Harry Potter and the Veil of Truth
by Phoenix1976
Summary: Sequel to the Edge of the Light.  After a shocking event that exposes the Wizarding world to the muggles, Harry is asked to help in the struggles that follow.  Rated T for violence. HPHG RWOFC
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

Hello my friends!

This story is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Edge of the Light. If you have not read it, that is alright. This is an independent story, and does not require you to read the first story. But it will help, as many of the characters are introduced in the first story. Also a couple of subplots in the first story will be tied up in this story.

This story is dedicated to all of my reviewers from the first book, my wife and children, and all of the soldiers that have fought for our freedom.

The prologue will stir up some unpleasant memories, but I hope that it will remind us to never forget 9-11. I hope I do not upset anyone too badly, but it must be done to set the story up. I remember when I first heard what happened. I was on my way into work, just getting onto the freeway. When I arrived at work, they had set up on of our large conference rooms up to display CNN for the day.

I remember seeing a couple of friends of mine at work. That was the only day I have ever seen them cry.

**WARNING**: This story will be containing some very violent and graphic scenes dealing with violence and terrorist attacks. I do not mean to offend anyone, but it is necessary for the story.

I do not own anything dealing with Harry Potter. I will only say this disclaimer here, and not at the beginning of every chapter.

And once again, reviews are appreciated, but not in any way required. Review only if you wish to.

Thank you, and enjoy the story.

Phoenix


	2. Prologue

**Prologue**

_Harry was enjoying himself for a few days, visiting New York City. He had never been there before, and he was currently watching children play in Central Park. He laid his head down, closing his eyes and basking in the sun. He smiled slightly, hearing a child nearby him giggle. He turned his head and cracked his eye open to see a cute little boy, about seven years old smiling at him._

"_Hello," Harry said. The little boy smiled and waved. "Having fun out here today?" The little boy nodded, but he still did not speak. Harry smiled and nodded. "Ahh, you aren't supposed to talk to strangers, are you?"_

_The little boy nodded in the affirmative. Harry smiled again and sat up, facing the little boy._

"_Well, my name is Harry Potter," he said. The little boy's eyes widened in amazement when Harry told the little boy his name and Harry shook his head in exasperation. "Oh so you know who I am?"_

"_But, Harry Potter is supposed to be a big tough hero," the little boy said. "You don't look like a big tough hero lying on the grass like that."_

"_Oh? What should a big tough hero be doing then?" Harry asked with a grin. The little boy got a far off look in his eyes._

"_A big tough hero like Harry Potter should be battling evil at all times, and he would always be saving people," the boy said. Harry chuckled and shook his head._

"_But do you think that Harry Potter should get a break once in a while?" Harry asked with a grin. The little boy smiled and laughed._

"_But who would catch the bad guys if he was resting?" the little boy asked seriously. Harry smiled and answered him._

"_Well, the Aurors would help out while he took a break," Harry said. "I happen to know that one of Harry's best friends is now an Auror and a darn good one as well."_

_Harry looked at the boy and grinned and he made a show of brushing his hair back so his scar was visible. The little boy had followed his movements carefully and had seen the scar. The little boy was dumbstruck as he started at Harry._

"_You really are Harry Potter," the little boy said. He walked forward and hugged Harry. "My name is Jack." Harry awkwardly patted the boy on his back._

"_It's nice to meet you, Jack," Harry said. 'Someday I will find a place that no one knows who I am,' he thought to himself. "Jack, your parents are nearby, right?" Jack nodded and pointed to a couple who were playing with a small dog. "Go on back to your parents, kiddo. I'll make sure no bad guys come after you while you're here."_

_Jack ran happily back to his parents and promptly whispered to them that he had met the Harry Potter. They looked over to where he was pointing to and Harry gave them a small wave. They waved back and continued their activities._

_Harry was laying back down when a shadow of a plane passed over the park and he noticed it was quite low to the ground. His heart fell into his stomach as everything seemed to run in slow motion, watching the plane plow into the World Trade Center. Jack had watched it as well, and he turned his head to see what Harry would do, but Harry was already running through the park in the direction of the building._

_Harry found a densely wooded area and apparated as close as he could get. He arrived in time to see several wounded people trying to flee the area. He grabbed the nearest person's arm and guided them towards the police officers. He herded a few more wounded before the rest of the police had come to assist. He turned and ran for the towers, despite the police yelling for him to flee as well. Harry had no intention of listening, as he saw a man pointing his wand at a blocked door, trying to get into the building. Luckily, the entrance was in a secluded spot and the muggle police were too busy with other injured people to notice them._

"_Need help?" Harry asked as he drew his wand. The wizard nodded without looking at him. Harry noticed he was wearing a badge and the uniform he was wearing looked similar to the ones that the muggle police were wearing._

_They managed to get the large slab of cement away from the door and it flew open as a dozen wizards that were in uniforms poured out of the door. Harry helped the wounded ones to get away from the building. Harry was convinced that this was the Auror office for this area. He returned to the door to see a couple of Aurors arguing about returning for the ones who were trapped._

"_I know it's not the right thing to do, but we can't get to them!" one of them shouted. The shorter one opened his mouth to argue, but he was cut off. "They are too far in there, and we can't apparate without running the risk of appearing in the wreckage!"_

_Harry shook his head and started for the door. They didn't notice him until he was about to enter the door._

"_HEY!!" the taller one shouted. "Don't go in there!" Harry did not turn around, but he answered the Auror._

"_And why not, as there are injured and trapped men in there?" Harry asked quietly. The Auror growled at the audacity of this kid._

"_First of all, you don't have clearance to enter our headquarters, and plus, it's a suicide run! You'll never be able to free them!" The Auror yelled as he advanced towards Harry. "It's impossible to get to them sir." Harry laughed a dry humorless laugh._

"_Well, impossible is just another day in the park for me," Harry said as he turned around. He nodded at the shorter Auror and stared hard at the taller one._

"_Merlin, it's Potter," the taller Auror breathed. Harry nodded and turned to the door again._

"_Sir, you can stay here and wait for your men to die, or you two can help me," Harry said. "Either way, I'm going in. I refuse to leave anyone behind."_

_Harry climbed through the door and he found himself in a destroyed office. He looked around and saw that a couple of Aurors had died from falling debris, and he dragged them out. After conjuring sheets to cover the bodies, he rushed back in to find others. He managed to get into the back offices, where he heard someone calling for help. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see the shorter Auror nodding his head. They cleared the debris from the hallway and Harry managed to pry the door open with his hands. He didn't want to risk any spells, as some of the debris was being held up by the door frame. The frame creaked loudly as the door opened, but it held. _

_They found that it was the precinct Auror commander that was trapped. He was under a large section of wall that had collapsed from the impact of a part of the first jet that hit the towers. The first jet had not been going as fast as the second one, and some of the plane's wreckage had fallen outside of the building, hitting the Auror offices._

_Harry levitated the section of wall, enabling the short Auror to pull the commander out. After conjuring a stretcher, Harry and the Auror loaded the commander onto it and they got him out. After they got the Auror commander out the two of them went back in, this time followed by four others to help. They worked for about an hour, they heard something happening. There were Aurors outside were yelling for them to get out as fast as they could, and Harry cursed loudly. He was just about to reach another survivor when he heard them yelling. _

_The short Auror grabbed his arm and tried to drag him towards the door, but Harry wouldn't move. Harry reached down through the ruined wall and grabbed the witch's hand, telling her he would not leave without her. The short Auror was trying to get Harry to let go, but Harry would not let the woman's hand go. _

"_I'M NOT LETTING HER GO!" Harry yelled as tear formed in his eyes. He could hear a loud sound rapidly approaching. He felt the Auror wrap his arm around Harry, and Harry tightened his grip on the woman's hand. _

_The Auror shouted for Harry and the witch to focus on the empty alley, and with a loud crack, Harry had to shield his eyes from the sudden change in lighting._

_They landed in a heap in the alley as the Auror raised his wand and created a dome shield around the three of them. Harry raised his wand as well as he watched in horror as the building came crashing down. Their shield barely held, but Harry never let go of the woman's hand. She gripped his hand a choked back a sob and looked up at him._

"_Where's Kyle?" she asked as fresh tears formed in her hazel eyes. Harry looked down and he felt his heart break. "My fiancé Kyle was right next to me! KYLE!" She continued to yell for her companion, but no answer came. "Please God! KYLE!" _

_Harry hung his head and cradled the woman's head to his chest as her body shuddered with painful sobs. She was gripping his shirt, holding onto Harry as she sobbed. He just sat there, sharing the woman's grief, and the Auror left them be as the witch's heart breaking wails echoed in the alley. Harry felt his eyes sting as tears found their way down his face._

_Harry didn't know how long they sat like that, but it was long enough for the Healers to have to pull him apart from the woman so they could work on her injuries. He stepped back as they worked on her and looked at his hands, which were covered in dirt and blood. He looked up to the rubble that used to be their headquarters, and he saw a bloodstained badge that was sticking out of the debris. He fell to his knees and wept. _

_He clenched his hands into fist and threw back his head and let out a cry of rage and pain that got the attention of everyone in the alley._

Harry shot up out of bed with a yell, waking Hermione suddenly.

"Harry?" Hermione asked. "Bad dream?" Harry nodded and shook his head trying to clear it. He could still hear the echoes of the woman's cries in his ears.

"Bad memory," he said. He laid his head back down, but he could not fall asleep again. Hermione cuddled up to him, laying her head on his chest. She was still awake as well, and she sighed. It was the third time in the last two weeks Harry had a memory surface in his dreams, turning it into a nightmare. '_The bad thing is, it's always the same_' Harry thought to himself.

Hermione tightened her arm around Harry and sighed nervously. She had a bad feeling something was coming, but she could not place it. Harry had felt it too, and they had discussed the possibilities last week. They had asked Ron, but he had told them that things were quiet, and they had heard nothing that would put the Aurors on alert. But Harry had a feeling that his life was going to become interesting again.


	3. Hammering Out a Solution

**A/N:** Hello everyone! Thank you for those who reviewed right off the bat! Here is the first chapter of the sequel.

**Chapter One**

**Hammering out a Solution**

_December 16, 2007_

Harry stood in his workshop mulling over his latest order for a family sword. Neville had recently married Parvati Patil, and since they were starting a new life, Neville had wanted a new family sword to be made. Harry gathered some of his steel and a few other items, and placed them on his large work table. The steel was put into the forge, so that he could pour it into a rough mold when it had melted, and then he could start on the rest.

Harry sat back as he waited for the metal to become pliable, and he started reminiscing over the last few years. The muggle world had become unstable lately, with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including several attacks all over the world. Harry again thought of his dreams lately, and wondered if it was a sign of things to come.

He noticed the steel was loose enough to pour into the rough mold. He carefully tipped the stone basin the metal was in and slowly poured the molten metal into the mold. As it hissed and steamed, he made sure that he did not put too much in, as he was going to surprise Neville by making a pair of swords. He finished pouring what was needed, and then he pushed the cart that the mold was on over to the large tub of water that he had ready.

Harry attached a couple of chains to the mold and went to the other side of the tub and pulled. When the mold hit the water, there was a great plume of steam as the metal was rapidly cooled, hardening and cooling the blade until it was safe to handle. He already had a couple basic grips and hilts ready and then he lifted the mold out of the water. The metal was still a bit warm, but it was well within the temperature range that he could handle. He tapped the bottom of the mold with a hammer, just hard enough until the rough blade popped loose. It clattered to his work table, and then he repeated the process for the second blade.

He put the first blade into a bed of hot coals, waiting a few minutes before it was red hot enough so he could start tempering the blade. Once it was hot enough, he started his hammering. Over the next few hours he repeated the process of hammering and folding the blade. He had made around seventy five folds by the time Hermione came into the workshop and got his attention.

"Love, dinner is ready," she said cheerfully. Harry smiled at his wife and nodded. He stretched his arms and felt his elbows pop. "How's it going in here?" Harry looked over the blade and smiled.

"It's going great hon," he said. "I figure I can finish the blades in a few days, and then I can start decorating the hilt and grip of each sword. But I may need to run to our vault soon to get the enchanted gems for the hilt. I didn't have enough hands to grab them last week."

"Well maybe we could go tomorrow, after I get off of work," she said. Harry nodded and smiled. Monday nights were their time to meet for dinner out since the other nights she opted to work a little later to make sure she would have enough time to take the weekends off.

Harry washed up quickly and followed Hermione up the stairs onto the main floor. Half way up he stairs, he quickly reached up and started tickling her. She shrieked and started to run up the stairs giggling. He matched her step for step and kept lightly poking her sides. By the time they made it up the long flight, Hermione was breathless with laughter and Harry was grinning like a fool. He swept her into his arms and soundly kissed her. She returned the kiss before playfully pushing him back.

"Harry, we have to eat now. There will be enough time to play later," she said with a saucy wink. He grinned and not so proper thoughts started running through his mind. Hermione saw the look on his face and rolled her eyes and grinned. "Later, Harry."

Harry feigned a scowl, but she didn't buy it. He smirked and raced her to the dining room and they sat down, giggling like school children. The food appeared and they had a simple dinner of grilled chicken, fresh baby vegetables, and a basket of freshly baked rolls. They chatted about nothing in particular and soon they were finished. They stayed at the table and they enjoyed a small glass of wine as they talked.

Hermione finally rose from the table and Harry returned to the basement. He wanted to get a bit more done on the sword, as he wanted to have accomplished six hundred folds on the sword. He wanted it to be fairly strong but still have some flexibility. He finished the one hundredth fold around half nine that night. He put the blade up and put away his tools and left the workshop.

He arrived upstairs and took a fast shower, only to find Hermione waiting for him in the bedroom with a couple of beach towels. He grinned and put on his swim trunks and they walked down to the pool in silence. As she set the towels down, Harry stood beside her and took off his shirt he was wearing. She did the same and he promptly grabbed her and he flung himself into the pool, taking a surprised Hermione with him.

"Harry!" she spluttered when she surfaced. He laughed and splashed her right in the face. "Ooooh, you're a dead man Potter!" she snarled. She tried to dunk him, but he managed to use his powerful arms and lifted her out of the water and tossed her a couple of feet away and she hit the water rear end first.

His grin broadened when she brought her head above water, looking particularly murderous, but he just grinned at her.

"What's so funny Harry? You may have survived Riddle, but you're not going to survive your wife's wrath!" she growled. He simply raised his hand above water and her eyes widened comically.

"Missing something love?" Harry said as he grinned devilishly. He was holding her bikini top in his hand, and she blushed slightly.

"And you think that's going to stop me?" Hermione said with a wry grin. "It's not anything you haven't seen before."

"Oh I know that hon," Harry said nonchalantly. "I just happen to know something you don't." Hermione's eyebrow rose in interest. She noticed he was creeping closer and closer.

"And what is that, love?" She asked. He grabbed her suddenly with his long reach and pulled her against him.

"This," he said. He pulled her into a passionate kiss that took her breath away and made her head spin. After several moments, he broke the kiss after the need to breathe was becoming more and more urgent.

"Wow," was all she could say. He handed her the top to her swim wear and she hastily put it back on. After a few laps they had a small water fight and then left the pool. Harry led her to the hot tub and he massaged her back while they were in the warm water.

Hermione almost fell asleep after the combination of the warm relaxing water and Harry's massage. He leaned her back against him and they just sat in the water for a little while, quietly enjoying their time together. A sudden thought crossed her mind, hoping Harry would not get upset. She had been planning on talking to him about it lately, but she could never find the words to explain it.

"Harry?" she asked quietly. Hearing him make a questioning sound, she pressed on. "Do you remember my work on the Veil?" She felt him tense slightly. "Love, I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to ask you something." Harry sighed a bit, but he tightened his hold around her.

"Mione, don't worry, I'm not upset at you," he said quietly. "I know it's been more than ten years, but I still miss him. It's just hard to think about." Hermione turned a bit so she was leaning her side against him.

"I know its hard Harry. It's just that I have wanted to talk to you about it for a while now, but I could never get the words out. I know I told you I worked on it, but I never really got into the details," she explained. Harry nodded for her to continue. "I found out what the Veil really is." Harry's eyebrows rose sharply. Hermione nodded and half smiled. "I found out that the Veil is like a state of limbo. It was used as a prison, but the prisoners were never allowed out. Many thought that the Veil was the doorway to the afterlife.

"Well In a manner of speaking it is. The Veil was used for 'execution', mainly because whoever was sent into the Veil never came back and all tracking charms and everything that would record them being alive would cease to function. But that was because the person was put into a state of limbo. It would confuse the charms and devices to the point where everyone would believe the person was dead.

"But when I translated the runes, I found that it actually conveyed a message. '_An innocent prisoner may be freed, but only the selfless will escape the penalty._'" She finished. Harry had a far off look on his face and he slowly turned his head to look at her.

"So according to what you are saying, there is actually a chance that Sirius could still be alive in there?" he asked quietly. Hermione nodded in the positive. Harry's eyes lit up just a bit, but they dimmed quickly. He sighed softly and shook his head. "I guess I should not get my hopes up, should I?"

Hermione sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. Her heart ached for Harry, knowing that there was the possibility that this would not work. But she would try for Harry. He deserved that much. She would do almost anything for him, and she was determined to make this work.

**oOo**

Monday morning came bright and early, and Harry found himself trying to shake Hermione awake. She moaned and clung to him tighter, refusing to let go. Harry sighed and tried to mention that she would be late for work, but that would not even work. He grinned and stealthily moved his arm and found her most ticklish spot and attacked. With a screech she sat up in bed and firmly pummeled him with a pillow.

"Harry!" she yelled, but her anger fell short when he gave her a look that made her temperature rise rapidly. "Oh very well." She grumbled something offensive about her annoying husband and marched primly into the bathroom for a shower. Harry grinned and followed her in.

After they showered and got ready for the day, he kissed her and let her know that he would meet her around six for dinner. She was still grumbling about her wake up call, but he just grinned and kissed her again. She glared at him, but it did not reach her eyes, as she was fighting a grin.

"Love you hon," Harry said. She smiled and said the same thing. She tossed the floo powder into the fire and called out her destination. In a flash of bright green fire, Hermione was off to work. Harry turned around and went to his workshop. He started the forge back up and got the coals hot enough to heat up the metal. He renewed the charm that kept the bellows moving in a steady pattern to keep the coals hot and burning and then put the blade into the coals heating it up so he could continue working on the swords.

**oOo**

Hermione made it down to her office and got to work. She knew Gavin would be late that day, and would be in around lunchtime. She planned to ask him then if they could try the Veil, now that she had finally talked to Harry about it. She had finally unraveled Harry's stone a few months back. Gavin had told her it was alright to talk to Harry about it, since he created it.

_Flashback_

"_Harry, do you have a bit to talk?" Hermione asked as he was working on detailing a sword. He finished his etching and looked up._

"_I always have time for you love," he said with a smile. She kissed him and sat down next to him. She put a serious expression on her face, and he noticed this right away. "Did I do something wrong?"_

"_No, Harry. You didn't do something wrong. I just wanted to let you know what your version of the Stone does," she said casually. Harry's eyes widened and he turned to her with his full attention. She smiled and opened her briefcase and pulled out the report._

"_Now as you know, the stone you made does all of the original things. You know, elixir of life, turn anything into gold, etcetera. But we found that it has two more properties that had never been even conceived. When a section of the stone was carefully removed, and we ground it up into a powder it yielded an additive to healing potions that made the drinker of the potion immune to the cruciatus curse for a few days. The Aurors were not really fond of testing that one, but we had a couple of brave souls test it out._

"_Now the other effect it has is far more substantial. If you take the same amount of the powder added to the same healing potion, as well as adding a tear of a Phoenix, not only would it make the drinker immune to the cruciatus curse, but it restored the person's body back to a full and complete state. And I mean _full_ restoration. Alastor, could you come in here?" Harry nodded and watched the doorway, expecting the old Auror to come thumping in on his prosthetic leg, but Harry fell off his stool in shock at a very much in one piece Alastor Moody. _

"_What…. How…" was all that Harry could manage to say._

"_Trust me lad, I said the same thing when they convinced me it could work. At first I was trying everything I could to get out of it. But when yer young lady here told me it was safe, and I saw yer phoenix Fawkes drop a tear into the potion, I knew it would be alright. I thought that if there were any toxins in the potion, Fawkes' tear would have neutralized them," Moody explained. "I felt funny and my face was twichin' somethin' fierce. But then a really sharp pain hit my bad leg for a moment. Then I took my leg off and before my eyes, everythin' started regrowin' right there! That's when they had me look into their mirror. And the first thing I said to myself was 'Sweet Merlin!' The rest as they say was history. You did a good thing, lad. I thank you!"_

_Harry sat up for a long while with the two of them, discussing all of the tests they had done. After a while Moody departed to surprise a few of his friends, and possibly to scare the life out of them. After many hours of more possible tests that Hermione had come up with, they decided that the rest could wait, as they were too tired to keep their eyes open for long._

_End Flashback_

Hermione heard Gavin pass her office and she gathered herself together. She needed to make a good case, and to convince him that she could bring Harry to the Veil. She stood up and strode purposefully to his office to talk to him. She raised her hand and knocked on his door.

"Come in Hermione," he said pleasantly. She opened his door and took a seat in front of his desk. He gestured to his tea set and she nodded. "So, what can I do for you today, Hermione?" he said as he prepared a couple cups of tea.

"Gavin, I have a request for you, and I'm not sure you will like it," she said steadily. He steepled his fingers together and leaned back in his chair. His gaze became a little hard and he looked straight at her.

"There is no way you can go into that room, Hermione. I won't allow it. It almost got you killed six years ago," he said firmly. Her face fell and she played with her wand.

"Gavin. You know I would not ask you about this normally. But this could make all the difference in the world for one person," she pleaded with tears in her eyes. "Please, I'm begging you. I will have a full Auror company in there if you let me do it just this one time." Gavin leaned forward and his gaze became a bit upset.

"Hermione," he said softly. "I don't think you know what it would do to me if I lost you. As a co-worker and as a surrogate daughter, I must protest against this." He stood up and looked towards the ceiling, sighing softly. "I lost my own child many years ago, and I could not go on if you were taken from me."

Hermione stood up and circled the office. She threw her arms around Gavin as he embraced her as his daughter. She hugged him tightly and stepped back.

"Gavin, please. It's not for me. It's for Harry," she said. "If I can prove my theory on the Veil, it could free an innocent man and give Harry the one thing he has always wanted; a father figure that will care for him." Gavin stepped back and looked at her quizzically.

"And who would this person be?" Gavin asked. Seeing that she was reluctant to answer, he got nervous. "Hermione, tell me who this person is that you are trying to get back from the Veil." She sighed and braced herself for the yelling that was about to happen.

"Sirius Black," she said. As predicted, he exploded.

"WHAT!!!" he yelled. "How could you come in here and ask me to free the man who _murdered_ your husband's parents?! I can't believe that you wo—"

"GAVIN!" she bellowed. At his surprised and furious stare she continued. "I know _exactly_ what I am asking! Now hear me out before you go any further. And if you don't help me with this, you are condemning an innocent man to a horrible eternity in the limbo that is the Veil!" Gavin seethed, but he held his tongue and motioned roughly for her to continue. Hermione gathered up her wits and stalked over to his cupboard. She threw the door open and pulled out a vial of clear liquid. "Do you recognize this?"

"Yes, it is my Veritaserum. Why do you ask? You know darn well what it is," he said gruffly. She opened the cork and let three drops fall onto her tongue. His jaw fell open in shock and she sat down in the chair that she had been occupying for the beginning of the conversation.

"Ask me whatever you want," she said evenly. He sat down and realized she was serious about the whole thing.

"Tell me why you think Sirius Black is innocent," he said. He had started recording the conversation into his pensive directly before he started asking her anything.

"I don't think Sirius Black is innocent, I know he is," she said. "Peter Pettigrew is alive and he was the secret keeper for the Potter family. This was told many years ago, but because Sirius was missing and presumed dead, it was swept under the rug again."

"We all know that Peter Pettigrew is still alive, as he was seen many times in the company of Death eaters," Gavin said. "But that still does not prove that Peter betrayed the Potters. I know you believe this, but we would need hard proof of this accusation. Could you provide that to me?"

"Yes I could if Sirius was freed from the Veil," she said. "That is why I would want an Auror crew there when we attempted to retrieve Sirius, that way we could hold a formal trial. Give him Veritaserum. You will get your proof then."

Gavin sat back in his chair and debated the issue in his head. '_If we do capture Black and prove he is guilty, that would solve one of the most talked about murders in the last thirty years. But on the other hand, if she is right, and Black is innocent, the consequences are astounding to think about._'

"Alright, Hermione. You have given me many things to think about," Gavin said. She started to get up, but he waved her down for another question. "I only want to ask you one more thing."

She sat up and nodded her head.

"Why are you trying something so dangerous?" he asked.

"I'm doing it because Harry deserves it. No one should have to go through the things he had to," she said. "I'm doing this because I love him more than life itself."

"And if something went wrong with your theory?" Gavin asked.

"You will have my resignation and a signed order to _obliviate_ me on your desk if something goes terribly wrong," she said sternly. Gavin nodded and sat back.

"You have your shot, Hermione. I will have a full Auror company standing by for when you are ready to try this. But understand Black will be handed over to the custody of the Aurors so they can provide him with a fair trial before he leaves the Ministry, understood?"

"Yes, Gavin, I do understand," she said. Hermione left his office and returned to her own and sat down. She gathered her frayed nerves and began making her preparations. She would be ready in three days.


	4. Plans and Interrogations

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I am SO sorry for the month long delay in this story. I finnaly coaxed my muse from the ledge and sat down and had a long talk with him. We are back on good terms now.

Enough of my babbling! Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

**Plans and Interrogations**

Hermione had gone back to her office and started working on getting her plans together. She sent a memo off to Ron letting him know of her plans. She was digging through some parchments when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, still focused on finding her notes. She glanced up to see Ron standing there, holding her memo. "Hey. I see you got my note." Ron's brow furrowed and he sat down.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly. "You know what happened to you the last time you were around that thing. What's going to happen if this ritual messes up or something worse comes out of the veil?" Hermione sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I have to try it," she said. "You know Harry needs this. There is only so much support a portrait can give someone." Ron shook his head and stared at her.

"But that isn't worth the possible cost to you!" he shouted. He cringed at the glare he received and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Mione, would you please just listen to me for a moment. Harry needs you most of all. If anything happened to you, we could lose him for good. You are the only person that can keep him centered. If this ritual does not work, the cost would be too high. Are you prepared to risk all of that for Harry?" She did not even hesitate with her answer.

"I would in a second, Ron," she said as she stared him down. "Nothing will change my mind on this." He sighed in resignation.

"Alright, but just be careful. So who besides me do you want there?" Ron asked.

"Kingsley, Tonks, and Sharon. I know you four will not attack him straight away. If this works, I need Sirius protected right away until he can get his proper and fair trial. If we could only find Pettigrew, it would make things so much easier," she said.

"I know it would, but there has been no sign of him since that day at Hogwarts. No one knows if he is still alive these days. And since Riddle's dead, no one can summon him," Ron stated. Hermione leaned her head back in thought for a few moments.

"Wait! What about Lestrange?" she said. Ron shook his head.

"It's no good. She refuses to talk to anyone. Harry is the only one that can talk to her," Ron said. "And I imagine you want to keep this hidden from Harry, right?" he said. She nodded in the positive, and then he continued. "The best we can hope for is that Joseph may have an idea."

She sat back and grumbled in frustration. Joseph Lovegood had been tried and found innocent shortly after Voldemort had taken his own life. They had lost track of him recently, as he wanted to live a low profile life.

"But how are we going to find him? You know as well as I do that he does not want to be found," she said. Ron sighed and nodded.

"I guess that is that," she said as she stood. "I hope we can get her to talk."

Ron escorted Hermione to the lifts so they could get to the detention area deep beneath the Ministry buildings. The wizengamot had decided to hold Bellatrix there; as she had made so many enemies that they would not be able to hold her anywhere else. They stepped into the lift and Ron keyed in his password. The lift started moving and soon they were several levels below the surface. They stepped out and Ron talked to the guards at the entrance to the detention area. After a brief exchange of words, they were allowed to continue. By the time they arrived at the interrogation room, Bellatrix was already in the room and chains held her hands down.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" she sneered. Ron glared at her before Hermione interrupted.

"We're _sorry_ to bother you when your schedule is oh-so-busy, but before we begin, I need to do something," Hermione said. She placed numerous privacy wards around the three of them and she sat down. "Now that we are in a private conversation, would you please answer just one question for me?" Bellatrix sniffed, but nodded in the positive.

"You only get one question, and it better be worth my time," Bellatrix said. Hermione looked her dead in the eyes and spoke.

"Will you help us locate Peter Pettigrew?" she asked. Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"Why should I do that? What have you all ever done for me? I have spent the last six years rotting in this hole. I hardly think that after all this time you are still trying to catch any more Death Eaters," she said. "I understand you are all inept at your jobs, but if you haven't found him by now, you aren't ever going to."

Hermione sat back and glanced at Ron. He was displaying remarkable self restraint, but he was grinding his teeth in frustration. He stood up and walked partway around the table and sat on the edge of it.

"There is a certain reason why we are asking," he said diplomatically. "We need Pettigrew captured to make sure we can clear Sirius' name." Bellatrix was caught a little off guard by the comment, but she hid it well.

"Why would I want to help you with that? Sirius is dead," she said, and Hermione thought that she heard just a hint of sadness in her voice. "Did you forget that I sent him through the veil?" Hermione leaned forward.

"Bellatrix," she started. "I bet that you didn't mean for that to happen. I'm willing to guess that since he was still your cousin, you could not really murder a family member in cold blood. Remember, I was there. I saw the spell exchange and you were not trying to outright kill him."

Bellatrix blanched for a moment. Hermione sat back and smiled victoriously. Ron moved back into his chair as Bellatrix gaped for a moment and then her shoulders slumped. '_Potter must have told them,_' she thought to herself. She steeled her nerves and looked back up defiantly.

"No matter what Potter told you, don't believe it for a moment," she growled. Hermione looked over at Ron in surprise. Bellatrix cursed mentally, as she realized that she had said too much.

"Harry never said anything," Hermione said. "But now we know that he knows something. Bellatrix, we are under so many wards that it would take Merlin himself to overhear anything. What does he know?" Ron watched the exchange with interest while Bellatrix shifted restlessly in her chair. Finally she sighed and looked up.

"If either of you breathe a word about this," Bellatrix said menacingly. Hermione raised her hand to interrupt Bellatrix.

"Oh far be it from us to tarnish your evil and insane image that everyone else has," Hermione said sarcastically. Bellatrix just rolled her eyes and huffed. "We won't repeat anything. I swear to you I will never reveal this to anyone else." Ron nodded in agreement. Bellatrix sighed again and stared at the table as she began to speak.

"I never hated Sirius at all. After all, we grew up together. But when I started following Him, Sirius tried so many times to get me to leave him. After a while, it drove a bit of a wedge between us. Yes we disagreed on our views all the time, but we still maintained contact through owls and such. Every time we would duel, it was a game to us. To see who could hit the other the most with simple spells.

"That night I was still having after effects from being in Azkaban for so long. I went a bit too far," she said quietly. Bellatrix looked up towards the ceiling and sighed. "I was only trying to knock him down and make sure he was out of the fight. I wasn't watching our environment and before I could do anything, he fell through that damned veil."

Hermione sat back and wiped a tear from her cheek that had found its way from her eyes as the memories flooded back into her mind. Ron was staring at the floor with a pained expression as he could hear Harry's cries of anguish echoing in his memories. Bellatrix was staring off to her right, and discreetly wiped a tear away. She turned back and continued.

"If I could, I would help you clear his name, but I doubt it will happen. You know they are never going to let me out of here," she said. Ron sighed and nodded as Bellatrix continued.

"What do you want from me?" she asked. Hermione glanced at Ron before answering.

"Do you know if Peter Pettigrew is still alive?" she asked. Bellatrix frowned.

"That spineless little coward," she muttered. Hermione and Ron both nodded in agreement. "I don't know if he is still alive, but if he is, I'll bet he is hiding in the safe house in his rat form. But I doubt he is still alive. After all, it has been six years since I last saw him."

Ron stood and stepped out of the room and went to send a memo up to his headquarters to have a crew sent out. Bellatrix turned and looked at Hermione.

"Why are you trying to clear Sirius' name? He died when he fell through the veil. It won't make a difference in the long run," she said. Hermione took a breath and answered.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll never breathe a word of what you said about Sirius if you keep quiet of what I am about to tell you," Hermione said. Bellatrix nodded. "No, I need an oath. What I will reveal to you is beyond classified, so I could be arrested for even proposing this."

"I, Bellatrix Lestrange do hereby swear on my life and magic to never repeat anything that is said in this room." Hermione felt the tingle of magic of the oath taking place. They were interrupted by the guards barreling through the door with wands at the ready.

"No!" Hermione shouted. The guards turned to her and she explained. "She just swore a secrecy oath, that's all." They glanced over at Bellatrix and eyed her carefully. After a moment of scrutiny, they left to resume their posts.

"Sorry for interruption. The magical detectors in here must be really sensitive. I think that oath will be sufficient," Hermione said. Bellatrix grumbled.

"Now what is so secret that I needed to swear an oath over?" Bellatrix said.

Hermione explained about what she knew about the veil and that she had discovered how it worked. She detailed her plan and what needed to be done. She also explained about the times that she had incidents with the veil, but she still left out the part about her wand being dragged into the veil with her cloak. Bellatrix sat back after Hermione finished her tale and sat back deep in thought. She suddenly sat forward and looked Hermione in the eye.

"I'm not sure if I can summon Pettigrew with my mark. The Dark Lord was always the one to do it, and I'm not sure if I know enough about how the mark works to try it," she said. Hermione's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Then I don't know how we can get Pettigrew here," Hermione said.

"I can't help you anymore than I have," Bellatrix said. Hermione nodded and started to get up to leave. Before she opened the door and canceled the privacy wards, she turned around.

"I appreciate all you told us," she said. Bellatrix looked surprised that she was being thanked. "I know you don't like us, but I just wanted to say that your help is welcomed and appreciated."

Bellatrix nodded slowly and Hermione left the room. She met up with Ron and he filled her in on what he had found out. He told her that he was on the team to check out the farmhouse where Harry had defeated Voldemort for the last time. Ron quickly shot down Hermione's desire to go with the team.

"Harry would skin me alive if anything happened to you out there," Ron said with a tone that clearly said the argument was over. "You're staying here, and that's that. Are we clear?" She scowled and reluctantly nodded.

"Hermione, you have to understand. Everyone here knows what you are capable of, and that you can take care of yourself. That's not the problem. Pettigrew has allowed many to die, plus we know for sure that he killed Cedric without a second thought. I can't put you into that kind of risk. Once we have him back here, I will let you at him, but not until we are sure he cannot cause any harm to anyone," he explained. "Plus, don't you have to meet Harry in ten minutes?"

She looked at her watch and squeaked in surprise at the time. After giving Ron a hug, she dashed for the lifts and started mashing the buttons trying to make it go. Ron joined her in the lift and punched in his code. When the lift finally started moving, Ron explained to her that even leaving the detention area required a senior Auror's code. They arrived back into the lobby with only a couple of minutes to spare and she dashed out of the ministry, heading toward Gringotts.

oOo

Harry was talking with Draco on the steps of Gringotts when Hermione ran up to him. Draco stayed for a moment and they said Harry filled Hermione in on what was being discussed.

"I was just telling Draco here that I was going to try to improve his replacement arm," Harry said. Hermione nodded thoughtfully and Harry continued. "I am going to try and create a lightweight metal arm and try a few enchantments on it so that way it will work like a normal arm would." He turned and addressed Draco. "Remember, this might take a while to get right, but it will be worth it when I get it done."

"Point taken, but if you do get it working correctly, it will be well worth the wait," Draco said. He shook Harry's hand and nodded at Hermione. "Well, I don't want to intrude anymore on your evening, so I shall be off."

"See you later, Draco," Harry said. He turned to Hermione and he took her hand. "Where are we going to have dinner?"

"I think we should go to Blandford Street," Hermione said. "I was doing some digging on the internet last night trying to find a place we have not gone to yet. It has some pretty good reviews."

Harry nodded and they left the Leaky Cauldron and found Harry's car. He still had the same Audi and they drove to the restaurant. They enjoyed their night out and their food was good. After they left, Harry drove to an alley and they used the portkey Arthur Weasley had installed and they arrived back home.

After they showered, they retired to the study so that way they could read for a while, or maybe just talk. They had agreed that no matter what was going on in their lives that they could always meet there every night and spend time with each other.

Harry finished his book and saw that Hermione was close to finishing hers. He leaned his head back and gazed at the flames in the fireplace and slightly tightened his arm around her waist. She smiled softly and laid her hand on his arm and gently squeezed it. Harry sighed and relaxed. The soft rustle of paper as she turned the pages and the soft popping of the fire lulled him into a slight dozing state until the fire roared to life and turned green. His head popped up suddenly and Hermione dropped her book to see Ron's face in the fire.

"Sorry guys, did I disturb you?" he asked. Harry shook his head and Ron relaxed a bit. "Good. I have some news. Some of it's good, but some of it is not so good. We found Pettigrew. That's the good news. But the bad news is that he is already dead. We recovered his body and they are working on confirming his identity. I know you two have seen him, as well as I have, but we need to do this by the book."

Harry nodded and they let Ron get back to his work. Harry was quiet as they went upstairs to bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and cursed under his breath. Hermione huffed quietly and sent a look at him.

"Sorry, love. It's just that I didn't know that he was still out there. And now to find out that he is dead. I think it is a good thing he is finally gone, but I am a bit disappointed I could not see him face the proper justice."

She sat down next to him and thanked Merlin that he did not pursue it further. She knew there was a possibility that they would find only Pettigrew's body, but she also knew that if she was successful with her task, that it would pave the way for a fair trial for Sirius. She wanted to surprise Harry with the whole thing, and she hoped for his sake that she succeeded. She laid down next to him and he drifted off into a fitful sleep. She ran her fingers through his hair and he calmed down some and finally settled down into a restful slumber. She finally drifted off to sleep, still running her plans over in her mind.

oOo

Dawn broke and Harry and Hermione went for their morning run. About halfway through Hermione slowed down a bit. Harry slowed down and asked her if everything was alright, as she had never slowed down before. She shrugged it off as being a bit tired and feeling a little under the weather. Harry stuck with her and they enjoyed a slower pace. When they returned to the manor, Harry departed for his basement workshop to work on Neville's swords some more, hoping to still get them finished by the holidays.

Hermione continued to make her preparations and left for work after giving Harry a quick kiss before she left. He had already turned on his stereo she had setup and charmed for him before she even made it up the stairs. She heard loud clangs of metal over the Coldplay album he had started up. And she swore she heard Dobby walk past her towards the workshop humming the tune to the song that was playing. Shaking her head she left and came out of the floo station in the entrance of the Ministry and made her way to her office.

As she entered her office a memo followed her in and landed on her desk. She opened it and rushed back out, heading for the Auror offices to talk to Ron. His note had said it was urgent and he needed to talk to her about her project. She arrived in a short time and struggled to regain her breath and fight down the slight nausea she still felt from earlier in the morning. She made herself presentable and strode through the doors and approached Ron's office.

"Hey there, I see you got me message,' Ron said. She nodded and held up the paper.

"So what's so important?" she asked. Ron grinned and gathered together some parchments and a folder. He motioned for her to follow him and he led her to a secure office that they used for confidential mission briefings. "Well?" she said as she sat down. Ron perched himself on the edge of the desk in the room and looked over at her.

"We have confirmed that the body recovered yesterday was that of Peter Pettigrew," he said. Hermione started to say something but he held up his hand to say something else. "Sorry, but I have some other news. Upon inspecting his body and items he had on his person, we found that he had put a memory into a vial that could be used in a pensieve. We viewed the memory." Hermione leaned forward to hear what he had to say next, but his grin was annoying her.

"Well?" she demanded. Ron just smiled and moved a chair in front of her and sat down, obviously enjoying the prospect of annoying her. "I swear upon Merlin Ronald, if you don't tell me, I'll hex you into the next millennium!" she said as she drew her wand. Ron's smiled faltered a little, and he cleared his throat.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a twist," Ron said nervously. "As I said we viewed the memory. It gave us some really useful information. It seems Peter finally had to pay up on his life debt that he owed Harry. He revealed that he had betrayed the Potters, and that Sirius was innocent. The wizengamot already reviewed our report and they have it on file that Sirius has been cleared of all charges! We did it Hermione!"

She sat back with a thump and her head reeled with the revelations that went through her head. Sirius was cleared already, before she could finish her plans. She knew Harry would find out before she could ask people to keep quiet about it, and she was right. At the moment she was being told by Ron, Harry had received a missive from the Ministry explaining what had been found and decided on.

She felt a warm and pleasant feeling sweep through her body as she realized what this meant. If she was successful with the ritual, she could bring Sirius right home without any delays. With that on her mind, she said her farewells to Ron, and left to work on getting her plans finished.

The day went quickly and she sent off requests for the items she needed for the ritual and finalized her plans. She had less than two days to get things setup. She worked at a fast pace getting the chamber setup while Ron watched on. He shivered a bit and Hermione noticed it.

"I know you have some bad memories of this room, but after Wednesday, we can have better ones to think about," she said. Ron looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"How are you so sure this will work? What if something goes wrong?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded.

"Yes there could be something that goes wrong. But I have been working on this Veil for more than eight years. I know what the penalties could be, but I also know this veil backwards and forwards. As long as I don't pronounce something incorrectly, nothing can go wrong. All of the runes are already in place and the items are ordered," she explained. Ron sighed. "Trust me Ron, I have this all figured out."

"I hope you're right Hermione," Ron said as he gazed at the Veil again. At her slightly cross look, Ron raised his hands in defense. "I believe in you, make no mistake on that. But there have been a couple of times you were wrong about something. But this time could cost you your life." Hermione's gaze shifted to the Veil.

"I know," she said quietly. She looked back over at Ron. "Let's hope for everyone's sake that I'm not wrong about this." Ron tilted his head in question. "If I fail in this and I die because of it, Harry's going to go ballistic."

Ron nodded and watched her put away her notes. '_You better know what you're risking Hermione,_' he thought to himself. He gave the Veil one last fearful look and turned to follow her out of the chamber.


	5. Double Trouble

**A/N:** Hello again everyone! Told you that I would make it up to you all for the delay! Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

**Double Trouble**

_December 18, 2007_

Hermione woke with a start and sat up suddenly in bed. She had a feeling that she might be getting sick and she felt her stomach clench painfully. She ran for the bathroom and made it just in time. Harry had been jostled awake when Hermione sat up and jumped off the bed. He heard some unpleasant sounds coming from the bathroom and he got out of bed quickly. He opened the door just as she flushed the toilet and sat back and leaned her head on the cool tile.

"Are you alright, hon?" Harry asked as he ran a glass of water from the faucet and sat down next to her. She took the glass gratefully and sipped a bit and felt it cool her throat down.

"I think so. I might be getting some sort of flu bug. It is the season you know," she said. Harry nodded and helped her up.

"Yeah that's true. But for now, you are going in later, after I have a healer over to check you out," he said. She started to grumble, but he silenced her with a firm look. "Hermione Jane, you _will_ lay down this instant and allow a healer to make sure you are alright, do you understand me?"

Hermione crossed her arms and tried to glare back at him. But his concern for her well being was shining through the irritation in his eyes. She dropped her gaze and huffed a little bit, but she did climb back into the bed. He went over to her dresser and got her a warm flannel nightdress and laid it on the bed. He looked at her and his message got through just fine. She put on the warm garment and covered herself up and instantly felt a little better.

"I'm going to call the healer, so please stay put," he said. She nodded and picked up her book that she had on her nightstand and started to read. Dobby popped in and brought her a hot mug of herbal tea. She thanked him, and he grinned and blushed before he popped out. She heard the floo in the main foyer flare up after a while and Harry was greeting someone.

Hermione sat up a bit higher and waited for Harry and whomever he got for a healer to arrive in the room. Harry knocked on the door and he opened it a bit. He looked in and Hermione nodded for them to enter the room. Harry was followed by Susan Bones.

"Susan! It's good to see you!" Hermione said. They chatted for a few moments and then Susan turned to business.

"Harry, could you wait outside the room for me?" Susan said as she opened her little black bag and drew her wand. She glanced up and saw he was not too pleased about being tossed out. "Harry, it's not that I don't trust you or suspect anything, but some of the tests I have to run will be rather unpleasant to watch, trust me on this."

Harry wavered for a moment and then nodded. He walked out of the room after kissing Hermione on the cheek and closed the door behind him. He wandered down to his workshop and started to work on Neville's swords again. He flicked his wand and the stereo started up and this time he selected a relaxing album by Enya. The soothing tones calmed his nerves and he worked on the gold braiding on the grip for a while.

Harry always lost himself in his work. The fine detail he had to put into the swords always distracted his mind to where all of his worries and fears fell away. His shoulders felt lighter and he was single minded in his quest for perfection in his craft. He had already finished one of the braids and had finished half of the second one when he felt something pulling on his leg. He looked down and saw Dobby tugging on one of his ears while trying to get Harry's attention.

"Dobby, what's wrong?" Harry asked. The excitable elf was trembling and looked up at Harry.

"Master Harry sir, Miss Bones is saying you can come back in now," Dobby said. He tugged painfully on his ear again, causing him to wince.

"Dobby what's got you bothered?" Harry asked. Dobby looked down at the floor and whimpered. Harry dropped to one knee in front of Dobby and placed a hand on Dobby's shoulder. "Dobby, you know that no matter what you tell me, I will not hurt you or be angry at you, right?" Dobby nodded at this. "Ok, so what is bothering you?"

"Dobby is scared for Mistress," Dobby said. Harry's jaw opened a bit and Dobby continued when Harry motioned for him to finish. "Dobby is scared for Mistress because when they told Dobby to come and find you, Mistress was crying."

Harry felt his blood run cold and he stood up and ran as fast as he could. As he ran his mind flashed back on two years prior.

_Flashback_

_Harry was returning from a short three day trip to gather some rare supplies from a mine he had been doing business with for a while now. He arrived back home and dropped his items off in his workshop and called out for Hermione. He waited for a moment as he put his materials away and he called out again. He got no reply from her and he went back upstairs, thinking that she may have fallen asleep in the den or by the pool. He checked both places, but there was no trace of her._

_He called out for Dobby but he got no reply from him either. Fear had started to well up inside of him as he desperately searched the main floor. He drew his wand, hoping it was not an attack. Granted he had the fidelus charm on the manor, but that did not always guarantee safety. He reached the second floor and called out to Winky. When he got no reply from her either, he started to panic. He reached the bedroom and threw open the doors with his wand at the ready to strike anything down. What he saw however, made him tremble and drop his wand._

_Hermione was deathly white and barely breathing. A thick layer of sweat was on her forehead. She was trembling, struggling to take in deep breaths. Her eyes cracked open and she focused on Harry, but she simply couldn't gather enough strength to do the simple task._

_Dobby was unconscious on the floor and Winky was wavering badly. There was a continuous string of magical energy flowing from Winky to Hermione. Winky haltingly explained that her magical energy was keeping Hermione from succumbing to the illness that was tearing her body apart. Harry tried to go to her, but there was a barrier that he could not get past. He heard her whisper a couple of words._

"_Deadly… Contagious…" she said before she lapsed back into unconsciousness. Harry turned and bolted for the floo and fire called Saint Mungo's Emergency Department and screamed for help. A healer rushed to the floo and asked what was going on. Harry explained the best that he could and they told him to stand aside. He unlocked the floo for the healers to get through. Once they came through, two healer assistants pulled him aside and ran a scan to make sure Harry was not infected._

_They had sealed off the doors to the bedroom and posted a guard to keep Harry out. He sat down outside of the doors for days as they worked on Hermione. Finally after four days, the doors opened and four very tired looking healers stumbled out of the room and the house elves were so tired that they could not even hide themselves. _

_They explained to Harry that it was a fast acting magical virus that was incredibly contagious. It seemed that it was a relic that had been found after a Nundu sighting and it had been contaminated by the Nundu's toxic breath. The item had been sent to the Department of Mysteries, and Hermione was the one who had been assigned to work on it. The healers said that she would be fine, but now that the virus had infected her once, she would be more vulnerable to magical viruses in the future. _

_Harry spent days nursing Hermione back to health and the house elves had recovered in time. They had needed to sleep for a few days and restore the energy they had sent to Hermione to keep her alive. After that day, Hermione had a totally different view on house elves._

_End Flashback_

Harry slid to a stop in front of his bedroom doors, hoping that she would be alright. He opened the doors and rushed in, expecting the worst. He looked at Hermione and it was clear she had been crying. His heart clenched painfully and he rushed to her side, regardless of what quarantines had been put into effect. If she was going to be affected again by a virus or whatever, he would be there and would fight anyone who said different.

"Mione? What is it?" Hermione's tears started up again and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. What he could not see is that she was smiling. Harry began to get really nervous and tried to pull back so he could talk to her. Susan spoke up at this point.

"Hermione? Do you want to tell him or should I?" Susan asked. Hermione shook her head and motioned that she would tell him. But first she just needed to hold onto him for a few more moments.

oOo

Gavin Frost was looking over Hermione final proposal on the project about the Veil. He had allowed Hermione to include this ritual and its results in her report. Many studies had been done before on the Veil, but that had been done by people who had never properly translated the runes. They had always used the ministry approved guideline books and stuck with that.

But his star employee, the one who he was grooming to replace him when he retired, had gone far above what others had done before. Hermione Granger-Potter had the presence of mind to utilize every book the ministry library had to offer, even the ones that were in storage because no one had checked them out in so many years. That did not stop Hermione. She read everything she could get her hands on, and had refuted decades of research and findings. If she was successful with the Veil, then he would be proven right. It would prove Hermione had the right stuff to head up the Department of Mysteries and to reform the entire group.

He had decided that regardless of the results of the ritual, he would not accept her resignation if she failed the ritual and survived. Her importance and passion for knowledge was something he no other person could ever hope to match. She had all of the qualities of Ravenclaw herself, but she had the courage of a lion for sure. She defended her decisions and her stands vigorously.

But when she had not shown up for work yet that day, he got a bit worried that she was having second thoughts about the ritual she was to try the following day. Gavin sat at his desk and steepled his fingers and leaned back. He decided he would fire call Hermione in a half hour if she did not show up.

oOo

Ron paced impatiently in front of Gringotts, waiting for Harry to show up. They were supposed to have met forty minutes ago. He and Harry had planned on visiting the twin's shop, and to check out the latest brooms available before heading out to see a movie.

He stopped pacing and thought over his options. He could wait here longer, or he could try to get into Harry's house and find out what was going on. He decided to wait a bit more and see what happened in the mean time.

oOo

Harry managed to get her arms loose from the choke hold she had put on him and he was able to get her to sit back so he could ask her what was going on.

"Hermione, would you please tell me what in Merlin's name is going on?" Harry said.

Hermione smiled shakily and Harry felt even more nervous. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by the alarms sounding that someone was trying to use the floo connection that had not been permitted by Harry. Harry squeezed her shoulders and scrambled for his wand.

Harry flew out of the bedroom yelling over his shoulder asking Susan to watch over Hermione. As he hit the stairs he heard Susan holler back that she would do so. He rounded the top landing and saw the grates come crashing down in front of the fire place.

He brandished his wand and fired a powerful jet of water to extinguish the fire before it burned his intruders to a crisp before he could have the chance to do so. Over the sounds of indignant yelling and spluttering, Harry made sure the fire was out and called on Dobby to help secure the intruders.

Dobby arrived and proceeded to tied up both of the people trapped in the fire place. Due to the soot and ash they had been subjected to when Harry put out the flames, they could not be identified readily. They pulled both of the men out of the fireplace and sat them down on chairs. Harry had already gagged the both of them and was tired of listening to the muffled insults and vows of bodily harm coming from the two men.

He raised his wand and both of the men quieted down very quickly. He pointed his wand at the first man and sent a _scourgify_ his way. Where a blackened intruder sat before, was a very upset, singed, and glaring Ron Weasley.

"Bugger!" Harry said. He quickly untied Ron and removed the gag.

"Bloody hell Harry! Why was I hog tied and gagged and then shot with water? You're barking mental!" Ron shouted. Harry looked down at the floor and mumbled something. "Oh sod it. Where were you this morning? We were supposed to meet over an hour ago!"

"Something came up Ron. I'm sorry," Harry said. Ron crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Hermione's sick." Ron softened up right away and laid a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Damn mate, I'm sorry for snapping. But why did you set the floo to trap me? I thought I was allowed here anytime?" Ron said. Harry turned and motioned to the other person. Harry approached him and raised his wand.

"_Scourgify_!"

Ron choked for a moment and Harry looked down at the man who was clearly irritated at being tied up and gagged as well. Ron pulled on the back of Harry's shirt.

"What's wrong Ron?" Harry said. He looked back at Ron who was fidgeting a bit. "Ron, what's the problem?" Ron shook his head and looked over at the man who was amused at the situation.

"Uhh Harry? That's Hermione's boss," Ron said. Harry slowly turned back around and gave a feeble smile to Gavin. Gavin just raised his eyebrows and tilted his head as to say '_Yeah, don't you feel stupid now? Git._'

"Oh sod a dog," Harry mumbled. At that Gavin started laughing behind his gag. Harry quickly released him and Gavin fell to the floor laughing.

"Great Merlin that was funny!" Gavin chortled.

"Now that we are set, why are you guys here?" Harry asked.

"Well we were supposed to meet as I said a minute ago, and I was coming to see what was keeping you," Ron said. Gavin waited until Harry looked his way.

"Hermione didn't arrive at work like usual. I wanted to make sure everything was alright. I didn't know you had set a trap on your floo connection," Gavin said. Harry nodded.

"Well, if you had as many enemies as I do, you would need some safeguards setup as well," Harry said. "With Hermione in the house, I will never let the safeties down." Gavin nodded approvingly

"Good man," Gavin said. "I care for her like a daughter, and I'll hunt you down like an angry father if you hurt her."

Harry stepped back a bit and gulped. He had faced so many dangers, but he had never had this kind of threat before. Ron laughed and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Relax mate, Sharon's dad gave me basically the same warning," Ron said. Gavin chuckled.

"Ahh, but Sharon's dad is a muggle," Gavin said with an evil gleam in his eye. "I'm not."

Ron and Harry both gulped audibly at that. Harry backed away and made his way to the stairs so he could go back upstairs and see to Hermione. Ron and Harry chatted while they climbed the stairs, setting up the following day to get together during Ron's lunch hour to make up for that morning, provided that Hermione was alright enough to go to work.

They arrived back at the door of the bedroom. Susan put her wand away when Harry said everything was fine. He entered the bedroom and saw Hermione clutching her wand, ready to fire at intruders.

"Mione, you don't need that. It's just Ron and Gavin that came over," Harry said. He crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her and she wrapped him in a tight hold again. He tried to get her to loosen her grip, but she wouldn't budge. He started rubbing her back and he heard a light tapping on the door.

He motioned for the two of them to wait for a moment until he could let her know that they wanted to see her.

"Love, Ron and Gavin want to make sure you are alright," Harry said. She nodded her head in consent and released Harry so she could cover herself with the comforter. He heard a slight sniffle as she started to quietly cry again.

He felt his heart fall into his stomach. '_The news must be really bad if she keeps crying like this,_' he thought to himself. He opened the door and stepped out for a moment.

"Alright. She said it's ok for you two to come in. But she's crying about something. She hasn't told me yet what the problem is, so I can't tell you what is going on yet," Harry said. Gavin and Ron both agreed to keep the conversation light for the time being.

The three of them walked in and Hermione had composed herself and was sitting up, watching them come into the room. Harry sat down next to her and she conjured a couple of chairs for Ron and Gavin. Hermione looked at Ron and addressed him first.

"Ron, could you see if Sharon could join us? She needs to hear this as well," Hermione said. Ron nodded and rushed back down to use the floo. After a few moments, Sharon had arrived and she walked back upstairs with Ron.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" Sharon asked nervously. Hermione motioned for her to sit down.

"I noticed the last couple of days I have not been feeling well. And as we all remember my bout with that virus a couple of years ago," she started. But when that was mentioned, everyone tensed up. Hermione nodded and continued. "Yes I guess we all do. Harry, being over protective as usual, forced me to stay in bed and he brought a healer. And no offence Susan, but I don't think it was needed at the time."

"None taken Hermione," Susan said from the corner of the room as she packed up her things. Harry had an incredulous look on his face.

"Mione, you were getting sick in the toilet! How am I not supposed to panic after what you have been through?" he retorted. She gave him a slight glare that said '_you'll shut up if you know what's good for you_.' Harry got up and wandered towards the door. Hermione's eyes flashed for a second. "Don't glare at me love, you know that I will do whatever I need to do to keep you healthy."

Hermione answered by grabbing her wand and shooting a quick stinging hex at Harry. Harry didn't see it coming and it hit him in the back of his leg. He yelped and tripped over the coat rack by the door and fell face first into the dirty laundry hamper. Hermione grinned and Ron was laughing out loud. Gavin was squeezing his eyes shut and had his hand clamped over his mouth. Sharon simply looked smug. Everyone quieted down while Harry tried to extricate himself from the hamper.

"That was a bit uncalled for," he said.

"Harry my love?" she said.

"Yes?" He said as she aimed her wand again.

"Zip it," she said. Gavin reached for his tea that Dobby had served. Harry looked at Hermione with an evil grin, but then he saw that her wand was aimed at him. His eyes darted between her eyes and wand a few times before he made a smart decision.

"Yes, dear," Harry mumbled. Hermione quickly leaned to the side as the tea Gavin was drinking make a rapid exit from his nasal cavity. Ron would need Susan's assistance from all the bruised his body was taking from repeatedly falling out of his chair laughing.

"Now to get back to the point. I can tell you what Susan found out," Hermione said. Harry wisely sat back down beside her and took her in his strong arms.

"Well?" Ron said as Hermione gathered her words. She looked up at Harry and then back at their guests.

"I'm pregnant," She said. Harry's jaw fell open. Sharon let out a high pitched squeal and darted to Hermione. Gavin looked pleased and Ron was thumping Harry on the back. Harry looked over at Hermione and grinned.

"I'm gonna be a dad?" he asked quietly. She nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. "Wow. I'm gonna be a dad." Susan cleared her throat.

"There is more if you all want to hear the rest of the news," she said with a grin. Harry and Hermione looked over to Susan expectantly.

"It seems you are having twins!" she said happily. Hermione smiled and Sharon hugged her even harder. Harry was not doing so well.

"Twins?" he said dizzily. Susan nodded and his vision wavered dangerously. "Ah just checking." Harry fell back and his world faded to black.


	6. A Sirius Matter

**A/N:** Sorry for the looooong delay yet again. I should be back on track. Too many issues to deal with, and not enough time to write. I have the next two chapters ready to write and I am going to work on them over the next week. Thanks for sticking with me and giving this story a chance.

After this chapter, things will start to speed up and the main event takes place!

Enjoy!

**Chapter Four**

**A Sirius Matter**

Hermione sat back that night in her chair in the study. The pregnancy put a lot more on the line during the ritual. She was even more adamant about keeping this from Harry until it was done. She knew he would forbid her from even trying to do the ritual, no matter what benefit came from it. He would re-hash what happened years ago when she was working with the veil.

Unfortunately, fate did not agree with her desire to keep this quiet. Ron, for all of the growing up he had done, the one thing he never learned was to keep quiet. It had been just after the announcement and Harry fainting that he brought it up. He thought it was safe to talk about it while Harry was out cold. The only problem was that Harry wasn't really out cold, he was just in a bit of shock, and he heard the conversation.

_Earlier that day…_

"Hermione, are you sure it's safe to go through with your plan?" Ron asked. She drew in a quick breath and motioned for Ron to be quiet about it. But he pressed on. "I'm serious, there is a lot more to worry about if something goes wrong."

"_Ronald_!" she hissed. "We'll talk about this another time!"

"No, we'll discuss this now," Harry said, sitting up and crossing his arms. Ron responded the only way he could.

"Bugger." Harry looked over at him and frowned. He turned to Hermione and made it clear that he wanted an explanation.

"Explain," Harry said. Hermione chewed on her bottom lip, showing Harry she was nervous. Harry sat back against the bed he had fallen next to. He raised an eyebrow, indicating he was still waiting.

"I'll just step out of the room," Ron said. Sharon grabbed his arm and made him sit back down.

"You opened this can of worms, so now you can help deal with the fallout," she said sternly. Ron sat back down and found his feet very interesting. Hermione took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Harry, please understand I am doing this for you," she said. Harry held up a hand and interrupted her.

"And what are you doing?" he asked, even though he had a feeling he already knew what she was planning. Hermione sighed and looked down at her hands.

"I am going to try getting Sirius out of the veil tomorrow," she said quietly, hoping Harry would not go ballistic. Harry's eyes narrowed a bit and he sucked in a breath. He leveled his gaze on Hermione and she was upset to see he was not happy about it at all.

"I don't think that is a good idea," he said. "Ron's right, there is too much at risk. You don't know if you can succeed, do you?" At her silence, he nodded and continued. "I am not willing to let you put you and our children at risk just to get him back. And if he was here, he would agree."

"But Harry, I know I can do it!" she shouted. He shook his head but she continued. "I know what could happen. But understand this; I want to do this for you. And do you honestly think I would be prevented from trying it? It doesn't matter if you locked me in this very room, I would find a way to do this. The last time I messed with the veil was for technically selfish purposes. I wanted to use it to get ahead in my career. But things have changed now. I know what it can do, and I know I can get Sirius back!"

Harry leaned his head back and thought it over. She was right. She knew what the veil was capable of and what it could cost her. But he was still hesitant to let her go through with it. She meant too much to him, not to mention their unborn children. He was about to reiterate his position when Fawkes decided to weigh in on the issue.

"_Harry, remember that she is truly the brightest witch of your age. She can do this. I am concerned for her as well, but she would walk through hell for you and do it proudly._"

"_I know that Fawkes, but she doesn't need to actually do it,_" Harry sent back. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I don't suppose there is anyway I can stop you, is there?" he asked. Hermione shook her head vehemently.

"Not a chance," she said. "I know you are worried about me and the children, but I have to do this. Sirius deserves this, as do you." Harry drew her into his arms and held her close.

"It's just that if anything happened to you I don't know what I would do," he said. She hugged him tightly and kissed his forehead.

"Face it, you're stuck with me. Nothing will go wrong, as I have been studying the ritual for years now. I have it covered," she said, trying to soothe his nerves.

"I know, but if anything starts o go wrong, I will obliterate that arch," he said. She snorted and nodded into his chest. The rest of the occupants of the room decided it was best to let them have some time alone. They were interrupted by Ron letting out a shrill cry of pain and he fell forward clutching the back of his left leg. Harry had sent a stinging hex that had joined Hermione's and they both hit the same spot. Ron was going to have a bit of trouble walking for a day or so.

"That's for letting your mouth get the best of you," Hermione said smugly. Ron glared at the two of them before he grinned.

"You two know this means war, right?" he growled. They both nodded in the affirmative. "Good! Then let the war of the New Marauders begin!" He yelped and dove through the door to avoid the barrage of spells that were flying towards him. Unfortunately some hit Sharon, and the rest hit Gavin.

Sharon was tap-dancing and singing the American national anthem like a chipmunk. Gavin on the other hand was sporting pink and white polka dot hair that was rapidly increasing in length, and he was made up to look like a circus clown, right down to the big red shoes. He glared at Harry and Hermione, but they were too busy laughing to do anything about it. Gavin tried to yell at them, but all they could hear was a duck quacking, which made the two of them cackle hysterically.

After a few minutes of laughing, Harry and Hermione finally reversed the spells. But not before Dobby had covertly taken some pictures of the whole thing. A temporary truce was reached, but when Sirius returned, it was bound to escalate again.

oOo

_December 19, 2007_

Harry and Hermione entered the Ministry atrium early in the morning. They made their way to the lifts after checking in with security and being logged in. The lifts descended into the depths of the Ministry and they arrived at the Department of Mysteries. Harry involuntarily shuddered at the sudden flood of memories. Hermione squeezed his hand to reassure him that everything would be fine. He shot a grateful look to her and they arrived at her office.

She had some of the things laid out that she would need, but there were a few things locked up. Harry busied himself with a drawing pad to sketch out some ideas for his swords, while Hermione went about preparing the items. Harry had made it through seven pages when Hermione caught his attention.

"Harry, I think I am ready. And I have already sent notes to the others to join us," she said. She gathered her materials and parchment together and they both went to the room that would let them into the chamber that contained the veil. Harry drew in a shuddering breath. "I know, Harry. The chamber still gives me the chills sometimes, but we do have to go in there."

"It's not just Sirius. Hermione," Harry said quietly. "But I almost lost you in this chamber as well. Not just the incident you had with the veil, but that curse Dolohov hit you with." Hermione stopped and put her hand on his cheek.

"Harry, you know I forgave you for the whole incident," Hermione said. Harry backed up a step and he stared at her.

"I know that, but I have almost lost you twice to the room. I'm just afraid it could really happen this time," he said with a thick voice. "I couldn't take it if anything goes wrong."

Hermione pulled him into a tight one-armed hug and rubbed small circles on his back, all while whispering soothing comments into his ear. Harry trembled again and pulled away for a moment.

"I know," she said. "But you know that it would take a lot more to take me away from you, right?" Harry smiled a weak smile, but he nodded in agreement.

They crossed into the chamber and Harry stared hard at the veil. Hermione went about setting up the ritual. Harry kept seeing Sirius fall through the veil in his mind. Hermione shot a cheering charm at him as he started to hyperventilate. He looked over at her and smiled a little and nodded his thanks. He sat down and closed his eyes, entering a meditative trance to clear his mind.

Hermione continued to setup her items, such as candles, magical artifacts, and other items. She read over her notes and was refreshing the text in her mind when Madam Pomfrey arrived, as well as Tonks and Remus.

"Harry?" Remus asked. Harry opened his eyes and smiled.

"Remus, how have you been? And how is my godson?" Harry asked as he stood up and embraced his surrogate uncle. He turned to Tonks and gave her a hug as well. "Hey Tonks."

"Wotcher, Harry. Teddy's doing fine. He's at Molly's with Karen," she said. Harry smiled and nodded.

"And how old is she now?" Harry asked, always excited to hear about his godchildren.

"She's almost four now," Tonks said. "Taking after her dad and creating mischief constantly." Remus had the decency to look sheepish.

"Yeah she turned my hair green the other day," Remus said with a small laugh. Harry shook his head and snorted. Ron and Sharon arrived with Gavin a moment later. Harry addressed the whole group.

"Alright everyone, it looks like Hermione is ready for this. Now I want to remind everyone, that if anything goes wrong, or something undesirable comes out of the veil, we need to contain it," Harry said. He received nods and murmurs of agreement. He took a deep breath and nodded to Hermione.

She kneeled down in front of the veil in the center of the markings she had placed on the floor. She began to speak in a low monotone voice, reciting some of the runes she had translated years ago. The sound of her voice was the only thing that was heard, as the rest of the group almost held their breath.

Hermione's brow furrowed and she started to sweat a bit, but Harry was held back by Remus, indicating to let her finish. Harry reluctantly stepped back from him trying to rush to her aid while she was doing the ritual. Meanwhile, in Hermione's mind, she was undergoing the trial that could release Sirius from the clutches of the veil. Her face screwed up in concentration, and a moment later, they heard a loud scream echo throughout the chamber. As soon as the scream ended, Hermione fell unconscious on her side. Harry rushed to her side ready to do what he could to help her.

oOo

Hermione opened her eyes and saw a bleak landscape. The trees were dead and the ground was just sand and dirt, and the air felt stale. She continued her chanting, trying to summon the guardian of the veil.

As she continued to chant, the ground ahead of her began to ripple. She stood her ground as a figure began to rise from the ground. It took the shape that resembled a dementor, but it was a little different. It had legs and a full body, but it had rotting flesh all over. When the figure finished taking shape it turned its head towards her. It didn't speak, but it communicated through the very air.

"_Who has summoned me?_" it asked. Hermione steeled her nerves and stepped forward.

"I have," she said. "My name is Hermione Granger. I have come to ask for the release of an innocent man." The figure stared at her.

"_Are you willing to go through the trials? Few have succeeded in completing the trials,_" it said. Hermione wavered for a moment, but she nodded.

"I am willing. What must I do?" she asked. The figure melted back into the ground and the voice sounded once more.

"_You must follow the path to find me. Many evil creatures will cross your path. You must get past them to reach me. Once you have proven your heart is true to the reason you are here, I will then consider your request,_" it said as it melted back into the ground.

Hermione turned in a slow circle, and found a path that led into the distance behind her. She started on the path and continued to walk. She found that she still had her wand, but no other items were with her. As she walked, she heard many creatures crying out and then she heard something approaching from her left. She stopped and looked at what was coming. There was no way to describe it. The sheer hideousness of the being was staggering, but it spoke in a growl.

"I must feed," it said. Hermione momentarily panicked, but she waved her wand and conjured a large pile of meat. She guessed that it would satisfy the creature, but it stared at the meat and snarled. It took a step closer and growled even deeper. "I must feed."

Hermione stepped back and racked her brain, trying to figure out what to try next. She figured that it might want something live to feed upon, but she was not really willing to be that living thing. She waved her wand in a complex motion and transfigured the meat into a pig and it scampered away. The beast roared and chased after the pig, leaving Hermione to herself again as she sighed in relief.

The trek continued for what seemed like hours, and Hermione kept running into things that wanted something. But just as she was closing in on what seemed to be the end, a small but agile beast appeared before her and nothing she could do would satisfy the beast. Finally it lunged for her and she fired a blasting hex at it. The spell bounced off of it as it continued towards her. Not knowing what to do, she readied herself for a physical fight, hoping what Harry had taught her would be enough. She crouched into a fighting stance as the creature reached her. When it touched down she started to draw her fist back to strike out at the beast when it suddenly faded away. Perplexed, she continued to stay in the fighting stance, and listened to her environment.

The ground rippled in front of her and the guardian rose from the ground. She didn't falter however, not believing the beast had retreated. She heard a slight noise to her right and she threw her punch and connected with the beast and sent it skittering to the ground. It hissed and readied for another strike, but a snarl from the guardian sent it scampering away.

"_My apologies. That creature is the one that does not like to lose,_" the guardian said. "_You have proven yourself ready for the next part of the trial. I see you have been trained in occlumency. You must lower your defenses so I can see what is in your heart and mind._" Hermione frowned and shook her head.

"_I assure you, Hermione Granger that I need to be let in. If you do not, you will fail the trail and the penalty shall be swift,_" it said in warning. Hermione closed her eyes and slowly lowered her mental shields.

She felt the guardian enter her mind. It was like a dementor's presence. It was cold and unforgiving. Her mind reflexively started to close back up, but she willed herself to keep it open. Her forehead started to scrunch up under the strain of keeping her mind open. After a few moments, the foreign presence left her mind and she let her shields come back up slowly.

"_I see you are intelligent as well as brave. You are completely loyal to your mate and cunning as well. It is no wonder you are a perfect match for him. And I see that you have risked everything to come here for this man, Sirius Black. You have risked your life as well as your unborn young ones as well. _

"_You have put everything on the line for your mate's happiness. That alone is worthy enough to garner my favor. But the courage to come back after your previous incidents with my gateway and finish the task is commendable. You request is granted. Mr. Black will be available when you wake up."_

Hermione felt a jolt through her body and everything went black. She opened her eyes and saw that Harry was easing her from the floor. His face was white and he had a worried look on his face.

She sat up and looked at Harry. She motioned she was fine and they heard the yell again. Harry jumped up and his wand was at the ready. A few sparks escaped the end and he crouched into a combat stance, staring at the veil.

"WHO'S THERE?!" Harry yelled. A loud gasp was heard and a voice came from the veil.

"Merlin's beard, I've been yelling for someone to help me up forever now. It's about time some paid attention to me!" the voice said. Harry faltered and his wand trembled. "Well? Throw me a rope or something!"

Harry shook his head as if clearing it, and conjured a long length of rope. He motioned for everyone else to be ready to attack if it was a trick. He tossed the end of the rope down until no more fell. He gripped the rope and felt something grab onto it. He started pulling and grunted under the effort.

"I heard that. I'm not _that _heavy," the voice growled. Harry's arms trembled under the strain. "Come on, some of us have to use the little wizard's room, you know!"

At last, Harry reached down a hand and grabbed the voice's hand and heaved him up. Once the person's body was clear of the veil, he looked up to see six wands aimed at his head. He slowly raised his hands and looked cautiously at the assembled group. The striking blue eyes recognized his old friend. He thought he recognized the younger people, but the seemed older than he remembered them.

"Who was your only friendly companion while school was in session?" Harry asked, never letting his wand waver.

"He was called Witherwings. But his real name was Buckbeak, and I rode him after Harry and Hermione rescued me from Flitwick's office," he said.

"Sirius," Harry whispered. He ran for ward and crashed into the older man's arms and hugged him tightly. Remus grinned and strode up.

"I would hug you as well, but it looks like Harry has you occupied," he said. Sirius grabbed Harry's arms and pushed him back a bit.

"Harry? What happened?" Sirius asked. He looked over at Ron and Hermione, seeing that they were older as well. "Ok, what's going on here? Who are you all?"

"Sirius," Remus said. "It's been a while since we have seen you. In fact it has been twelve years since you fell into the veil." Sirius snorted.

"Oh come on, Moony, I only fell in there about two hours ago!" Sirius grumbled. "By the way, where is Bellatrix? She owes me a rematch!" Remus walked up and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder.

"Padfoot, this might come as a shock, but it has in fact been twelve years since you fell into the veil. It is now December of 2007 Harry is twenty-eight now," Remus explained. Sirius looked confused.

'Twelve years?" he asked. Remus nodded grimly. "Well, then I have a lot to catch up on, yes?" Remus just sighed and shook his head.

"Only you Padfoot. Only you could joke about two twelve year gaps in your life, hmm?" Remus said. Sirius just smiled and nodded.

"Of course! I wouldn't be a true marauder if I couldn't joke about it, would I?" he said. Remus just rolled his eyes and smacked him up the side of his head.

Sirius tried to retaliate, but he was intercepted by Madam Pomfrey and was scanned for any ailments thoroughly. After being declared fit, Sirius approached Harry. Harry looked at his godfather and smiled, launching himself into Sirius' arms again.

"Don't ever leave me again," Harry mumbled into Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius was pulled away from Harry by and ecstatic Tonks. After several minutes of back slapping and hugs by the ones who knew Sirius, he was introduced to the new faces.

"Sirius, this is Hermione's boss, Gavin Frost," Harry said. The two of them shook hands. Gavin had been informed by Hermione that Sirius had been cleared the day before. "And this is Ron's wife, Sharon."

Sirius flashed his most flattering smile and kissed her hand. Sharon blushed a bit, and Ron made a growl of warning towards Sirius. After a chuckle, Sirius moved back over to Hermione.

"So Ms. Granger, I hear I have you to thanks for my freedom?" Sirius said with a smile.

"Actually, it's Mrs. Potter," Hermione said. Sirius blinked in surprise and looked over at Harry.

"Ah! So you managed to snag her, eh Harry?" Sirius said as he nudged him. Harry blushed a bit a nodded. "Good! Now, _Mrs_. Potter, I hear I owe my thanks to you?"

"Yes, I did the ritual to release you from the veil," she said. Sirius nodded and smiled.

"Well done! Here is a token of my gratitude!" he said with a sweeping bow. He reached into his jacket and pulled out some fabric. "I think this belongs to you…"

Hermione groaned. He handed her the cloak she had lost all those years ago.

"Will I ever get to live this down?" Hermione said to the amusement of others. She searched the cloak and her face lit up. "My wand is still in here!"

Sirius grinned and patted her shoulder. Harry let Sirius know that he had already been cleared of all charges and that they needed to fill out some paperwork to counteract the records that showed Sirius was dead. After several hours of paperwork and many grumblings of hand cramps, Sirius left with Harry and the rest of the gang. As they were leaving, Sirius turned to Harry.

"So, care to tell me what I have missed this time?" he said with a grin.


	7. A Holiday to Remember

**A/N**: Sorry for the huuuuuge delay! Too many things have come up lately, plus my disc I had my story on would not cooperate for four weeks. Now that I got a USB drive to handle it, I and back in the saddle! I won't make you wait for the next chapter nearly as long, I promise. Enjoy!

**Chapter Five**

**A Holiday to Remember**

_December 22, 2007_

Hermione woke up late that morning. She rolled over and wanted to snuggle up to Harry, but his spot on the bed was empty. She sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was already half nine, and she guessed he was down in his workshop finishing up Neville's swords. She put her bath robe on and opened the door. Sure enough, she heard banging metal mixing with Harry's rock music blaring two floors down. Shaking her head and smirking, she turned back to the bathroom to take a shower. She soaked in the hot water and her muscles started to relax. She gently laid her hand on her stomach and smiled.

As she was drying herself off and had used her wand to dry her hair, she heard a yell of surprise echo throughout the house and a loud clang of metal. She hurriedly dressed and ran down the stairs. She kept thinking Harry had hurt himself and he needed help, but what she saw when she arrived in the workshop was not what she was expecting. Her jaw fell open a bit in shock, and she tilted her head to the side to get a better look.

Sirius was hanging from the ceiling by one foot and his hands were bound behind his back. His hair was rapidly switching colors, all of which he would never be caught dead in. His clothes had been transfigured into a very gaudy seventies disco style outfit. Hermione could tell that he was swearing up a storm, but he had been silenced by Harry.

She looked over to Harry and she giggled. He was rolling on the floor, laughing so hard that no sound was coming out, and he had tears of mirth running down his face. Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Harry had regained his breath, but he looked up at Sirius and started to snicker again. She tried very hard not to laugh, but when she looked at Sirius again, she saw that he was flailing around, trying to break free. She raised her wand and added the finishing touch, a floating disco ball right under his head. She snorted in amusement and that sent Harry off again.

Harry slapped the floor as he laughed, and Sirius just glared at them. But it got worse when Dobby popped in and snapped a photo before popping off again. Sirius went nuts, and Hermione finally gave in and laughed openly. After they had all calmed down, Hermione motioned to Harry to release him. Harry smirked and released the hold on Sirius' foot and Sirius fell into an un-dignified heap on the floor. He stomped off after he got up and muttered something about 'this means war'.

Harry sat on the floor and gazed up at Hermione with a grin on his face. He stood up and took her into a tight hug. He stroked her hair for a moment before pulling back just a bit. He looked into her eyes and said the only thing he could.

"Thanks," he said. "Thanks you for giving him back to me." She smiled and laid her head on his chest and tightened her grip.

"You don't need to thank me," she said. He tightened his arms and they stood like that for a few minutes until they were interrupted by Sirius.

"Get a room, you two," he said. Harry shot him an annoyed look but Sirius just waved it off. "And you, Mrs. Potter. You realize that you just included yourself in the war, don't you?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. She left Harry to his work and went back up to the study to read and relax. Sirius watched her leave and turned to Harry.

"Nice choice there, kiddo. She's a keeper," he said. Harry grinned goofily and nodded.

"Now all we have to do is get you settled down there Sirius," he said. His godfather looked at him with a horrified expression. "Oh don't give me that look. Just look at how happy Moony is these days." Sirius just snorted and shook his head.

"Harry, I've been thinking," Sirius said. He was about to continue when Harry snorted.

"Is that even possible?" Harry said with a grin. Sirius scowled and glared at him. "I think the day you form a coherent thought is the beginning of the apocalypse."

"I'm trying to be serious here," Sirius said. Harry's head dropped to the table as he laughed and slapped the table. Sirius rolled his eyes and shook his head. He sat back and crossed his arms and waited for Harry to calm down. Harry sat back up and motioned for Sirius to continue. He took a deep breath and started to talk.

"I've missed so many years of your life. Whether it was Azkaban or the veil, I've only been around for three and a half years of your life. What kind of godfather am I? I mean now I'm only old enough to be an older brother now," Sirius said. "How can I even hold the title of godfather anymore?" Harry looked at Sirius.

"You can hold it because you still are. Even though our time together was cut short by events out of your control, it doesn't change a thing. The three years we have had together mean more to me than you think. You have done the best you could with the time you had, and that's something I will always treasure. You gave me a father figure that I could rely on, unlike the Dursley's. And now that you are back, for good this time, I plan to hold you to that role. Just think, in a few months, you are going to be an honorary grandfather," Harry said. Sirius beamed and reached over to Harry, ruffling his hair.

Sirius and Harry talked for a while more and Harry worked on filling in Sirius about the last few years some more. They chatted while Harry continued to put some finishing touches on Neville's swords and engraved some runes on the blades. Sirius was impressed when Harry finished those and began to enchant the blades. After Harry put some deflection spells and charms to keep the edges sharpened, he finished it off with a strength enhancing spell that would give the wielder a better chance at overpowering their opponent. Harry finished the swords and used a spell to polish the blades until they were like mirrors.

Sirius and Harry moved to another bench where Harry had made the custom scabbards. They quietly worked on the finishing touches and putting the monograms on them as well. When they finished that, Harry sheathed the swords and placed them in a velvet lined case and carried them up to the main floor. Hermione must have heard them come up from the workshop and she left the study to talk to them.

"Are they done?" she asked. Harry nodded and set them down.

She walked over and opened one of the cases and gently took the sword out. She drew the sword with a flourish and went through a basic set of moves to test the weight and the balance. Sirius was impressed at how she handled the sword and looked over at Harry. He made a gesture that said he would explain later. They turned to face Hermione when they heard the sword go back into the scabbard.

"Well done, love," she said. "Neville will be pleased with these."

oOo

_December 25, 2007_

Harry delivered Neville's swords and a few other gifts personally on Christmas morning. He then apparated to the gates of Hogwarts to lay some flowers on the memorial and to drop off some gifts as well. Hermione met him a few minutes later and they both went to the memorial. They paid their respects to the fallen, like they had done for the last four years. They entered the castle to find Minerva. As they approached the stairway to her office, Hagrid was turning the corner to go to the office as well. After a bone-crushing hug, Hagrid said the password to enter the office.

"Well this is a surprise," Minerva said as she rose from her desk to greet the three of them. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"It's Christmas," Harry said. "Besides, you told us we could drop in anytime we wanted to say hello."

They enjoyed some tea and a few treats and caught up with each other. Harry made the announcement about their soon-to-be family. After another round of toasts, Minerva cleared her throat to get Harry's attention.

"Harry, I have a question for you," she said. Harry raised an eyebrow in question. "Our defense professor is going to retire after the next school year. I was wondering if you were interested." Harry sat back and looked out the window. He was interested, but he was not sure if he was ready for that yet.

"I'm not sure," he said with a slight sigh. He held up his hand when Minerva tried to convince him. "I'm not sure if I am ready for it. I know the material yes, but I'm not sure if I am ready to teach an entire school."

"Harry, are you forgetting about the D.A.? Look how many students you helped when you were still one of them yourself," Minerva said. "Many of your schoolmates went on to have some of the highest Defense scores in Hogwart's history thanks to you. You have a real gift for teaching. And I fear that if you pass on this opportunity, it will be a great disservice to you and the students."

Harry leaned back and thought about the offer. He had to admit she had a valid point about the D.A. and the other points she brought up. He told Minerva that he would consider it and the subject was dropped for the time being. They touched on other subjects and after a half hour, Harry and Hermione bid their goodbyes. They left the castle, and apparated to the Weasley's for a short visit. After eating lunch and sending a couple of hours trading gifts, they left to go back to their home.

When they arrived, they found Sirius decorating the study with some _very_ festive items. To top it off, he was singing his own versions of Christmas carols, although they were way off key. Harry looked over at Hermione and made a motion that suggested that Sirius had been drinking some questionable beverages, and Hermione nodded and smiled. After a few more minutes of audible torture, Harry got Sirius to stop so they could have dinner, then open their gifts and spend a quiet evening in each other's company.

After dinner was finished, Sirius bounded off like a five year old to the study to get his presents. Harry shook his head and muttered something close to 'he will never grow up'. Hermione followed him into the study and they found Sirius ready with his gifts piled in front of him. They all sat down and began tearing into their gifts. Harry had given Hermione a mother and child pendant that was made with diamonds and platinum. He also gave her bracelet that had several gemstones in it. He gave Sirius a new motorcycle jacket and a new helmet that had a radio linked to his so they could talk when they would go riding.

Hermione gave Harry a new set of hammers for his workshop and several new cd's that he could listen to while he was working in there. She gave Sirius an album of pictures she had taken of Harry and herself that she had collected over the past few years. He stopped opening gifts and held the album close to his chest with a slight smile on his face. He could not manage to say anything, but she got his message of thanks from the look in his eyes.

Harry opened his gift from Sirius to see dozens of small bottles with a silvery substance in each of them. He looked up at Sirius with a surprised look and Sirius nodded. Finally Harry had a way to get to know his parents from Sirius' point of view. He gently closed the box and wiped a few stray tears from his eyes and pulled Hermione and Sirius into a hug. They stood there for a few moments and just enjoyed the fact they were together for Christmas. Sirius pulled back and patted Harry on the shoulder.

"Ok, I think it's time for a movie and something to drink," he said. He walked out of the room, and returned with a bottle of wine and the movie 'Miracle on 34th Street'. He setup the movie and the three of them settled down onto the couch to watch the movie. Sirius handed Hermione a glass of wine, but she passed it to Harry. Sirius noticed this and grinned. He got up and whispered something in Harry's ear. Harry smiled and nodded. Harry stood and pointed his wand at Hermione's abdomen.

"_Infans contego_."

A soft white beam of light flowed into her stomach. Harry sat back down and let Hermione figure out what he had done. He could see her eyes darting ever so slightly back and forth as she worked on the translation. Her eyes lit up and her hand shot to her mouth. She looked over at Harry and he smiled, handing her back the glass of wine. Sirius spoke up.

"I remember James and Lily's first Christmas after they found out that she was pregnant. She was disappointed that she had to have milk for the dinner toast. James stood up and walked from the room and spent a few minutes looking for the spell. He came back and cast it on her. You two are so much like they were," Sirius said with a wistful expression. "When she realized what he had done, she was touched at his thoughtfulness. Her reaction was the same as yours was, Hermione."

They sat back and started the movie, toasting each other with a quiet chink of crystal and they enjoyed their night together.

oOo

_December 31, 2007_

Harry and Hermione woke up and did some light training to maintain their fitness. Harry suggested that they swim for a while and spend some quiet time before they left for the New Year's party in Diagon alley. They did a few laps and talked as they splashed around. Sirius came in to see what they were doing and ended up getting a face full of water for his efforts. After a few moments of spluttering, he did a cannonball into the pool and they all got into a water fight.

They continued to splash each other and they ended up getting water all over the room. They were interrupted by an irate house elf. Winky was scolding Harry for the water fight. But she lost it when Sirius decided to be funny and splash Winky as well. Harry and Hermione darted from the immediate area as Winky narrowed her eyes. Sirius gulped audibly and tried to escape, but Winky was faster. She snapped her fingers just as Harry and Hermione managed to exit the pool and Sirius howled.

Sirius scrambled to the edge of the pool and tried to get out, but found that the edges of the pool were warded to prevent him from getting out. Harry could hear his teeth chattering as Sirius tried in vain to get out of the freezing water.

"I should have warned you Padfoot. But Winky here has developed a taste for vengeance pranks over the last few years," Harry explained. "We gave her very few rules to abide by, so she can get away with a lot of things."

Harry put his hand on Winky's shoulder to calm her down. She cast one more glance at Sirius and snapped her fingers again. Sirius scrambled for the side of the pool and launched out of the water and onto the deck. Harry cast a drying charm as Winky used her elf magic to warm Sirius back up to normal temperatures.

"Harry," Sirius said shakily. "Remind me to never try that again."

Hermione snorted in amusement as Harry nodded. Harry and Hermione adjourned to the hot tub and relaxed in the warm water. Sirius left the pool room as fast as he could to get as far as he could from Winky, who was still cleaning up the water.

oOo

Harry chose to drive to London for the New Year's party. He knew that he could take a sobering potion he had in his pocket when they were ready to leave. He also wanted to show Sirius the quiet countryside that they lived in, and just because he wanted to drive.

The trip only took about an hour, as they had left early enough to beat most of the traffic. As they pulled up to the leaky cauldron, he noticed a big tour bus across the street. He smiled at the initiative of the muggles to provide a safe way to get the party goers home without having to deal with any drunk drivers. He pointed this out to Hermione and she said this must have been a new initiative, as the tube would usually be sufficient. They shrugged and went into the Leaky Cauldron. They found that Tom was still setting up and they offered to help out. He just waved them off saying he actually enjoyed doing this sort of thing.

The three of them walked out to the back patio and opened the portal to Diagon Alley. They ran into a few friends and they stopped and chatted for a while. Nobody was in a hurry, but they were anxious to start the party. The parties had been bigger since the threat of Voldemort had been eliminated for the last time. Everyone still came up to Harry and thanked him, even though he tried to downplay his role. After all, Harry still disliked his fame.

At nine p.m., the three of them went back to the Leaky Cauldron to join the party. Once they arrived, they were surrounded by their friends. As hugs went around, Harry heard a few people trying to ask them about the rumors that had been going around for a while. A look and a nod from Hermione prompted Harry to try and get everyone's attention. Finally he climbed up on the bar after asking Tom if it was alright. Once he stood up he pointed his wand towards the ceiling.

"Can I have everyone's attention please," he shouted after he let out a bang from his wand. Everyone quieted down and turned to him. "First of all, I want to address the rumors that have been going around. But before I begin… Rita, are you here?"

Rita Skeeter jumped as she heard Harry Potter call her name out. She reluctantly stood up and faced him. His intense green eyes bored into hers.

"Do you still have that infernal quill?" Harry asked. She held it up for him to see. But she was shocked when he flicked his wand and the quill flew from her hand and embedded itself into the wall. "I thought so. Now if you are going to do a story on this, you need to write out what I say and only print what I say, got it?" She nodded quickly, not wanting to miss out on a Harry Potter story.

"Good," he said. He directed his attention to everyone else. "Now, there is a rumor that my wife is pregnant. I want to set the record straight. The fact is we are expecting twins." He almost had to plug his ears to protect himself from the enormous cheer that rattled the building. After everyone quieted down, he announced that he would buy a round for everyone in celebration of the news. He hopped off of the bar and was treated to several slaps on the back and many people wishing him well. The party got going and Harry could see that Rita was quietly writing in the corner. He approached her and she looked up at him nervously.

"Hello Rita," Harry said coolly. He sat down and stared at her while she finished a sentence. She slid the pad of paper over to him and let him read what she wrote. He glanced over it and nodded his head. "Well, will wonders never cease? It looks like a factual story for once."

Rita glared at him but kept her mouth closed, fearing he would change his mind about the story. She folded the parchment and put it into her pocket and sat back. She was about to speak when Harry started talking.

"Rita, I know you and I have always had bad history. But I would like to try and cooperate if possible," Harry said. "I would have the first time we met, but you were twisting everything you heard into your own version. If you can agree to print accurate stories about me from now on, I would be willing to give you an interview once in a while."

Rita's mouth hung open at his words. Harry chuckled at her expression.

"Let me guess, not quite what you thought you would hear, is it?" Harry said. "Well, I think it's time to put aside rivalries and such. Enjoy the party." Harry stood up and walked off before she could reply.

He mingled with some of his friends for a while and made small talk while the music was playing. In the process he managed to get a couple more orders for custom weapons and some shields with the family crest on them. His favorite hobby had become quite the business to him lately, and since more and more people kept talking about his work, he didn't even need to advertise. It was around eleven that John Edwards caught up with Harry.

"Mr. Potter, good to see you," John said. Harry turned and shook John's hand.

"John! How are you? How's Crystal?" Harry asked as he greeted the man.

"We are both doing fine. Crystal is going to be starting Hogwarts this coming fall, so she's very excited at the prospect. She's already got a following because she's been telling everyone that her favorite '_uncle_' is the Harry Potter," John said. Harry closed his eyes and groaned. "Oh don't worry; she knows that she is not to forward requests for autographs from her friends. She's just happy that you are a part of her life."

"I know John," Harry said. "So how are things at the Ministry these days?" John sighed and gently directed Harry to a quieter area.

"Things are a little tense. With Tony Blair leaving a few months ago and the whole war on terrorism, everyone is a bit edgy. The new PM keeps asking if we are going to help, but we keep telling them that we cannot interfere. We can't risk the exposure of our world, just to give them a quick solution," John said.

"I agree on that one. I'm not saying that they couldn't benefit from our help, but too much is at risk. Plus we have our own terrorism to deal with. Look at how much damage Voldemort caused while he was around," Harry said. "If another Dark Lord tries to spring up, we can't be fighting two different wars. We just don't have the manpower." John nodded in agreement.

"Harry, I keep telling you that you would make a fine leader. Hearing you say that is all the proof I need to support that opinion. Why won't you run for office?" John asked. Harry snorted.

"Sorry John, just too much bad history for me to run a government that had tried to discredit and hinder me all those years ago. Besides, I couldn't run against a friend in the election," Harry said. "By the way, how is your campaign running?"

"It is running fine Harry. But just to let you know, if I do get elected, I will be looking to appoint you as an advisor of sorts, if that is alright with you," John said, looking hopeful. Harry sighed and looked at the ceiling.

"The only hitch in that is Minerva just offered me the Defense teaching position a few days ago. Now I wouldn't start until after the upcoming school year. Would I still be able to do that and be an advisor?" Harry asked. John nodded.

"Of course you could," he said. "I would only pick your brain if we had a major crisis going on, such as a Dark Lord rising or a threat to the magical world in general. I would have an assistant for the day to day things." Harry smiled and they worked out an acceptable deal if John won the election. Harry started to go and find Hermione when John caught his arm.

"Harry. Remember a few years ago, I asked if you would take care of Crystal if anything happened to me?" he asked. Harry nervously nodded. "Ok, I wanted to know if I could get an answer to that. The reason I ask this of you is because I plan on a lot of changes, and making sure that muggleborns and half bloods get a fair shake in things. If I get elected, and I start these changes, some people will not be very happy with me, and I could end up biting off more than I can chew. I wouldn't be the most popular person on the block. That is why I wanted to know if I could count on you. You have become a true and close friend, plus Crystal adores you. I could not imagine anyone else that could do this for me."

Harry thought about it for a few moments. He looked at his watch and saw that it was fifteen minutes to midnight, and he wanted to cast the protection charm on Hermione so she could participate with the champagne. He looked back over at John, who was holding a hopeful look on his face.

"You know I would protect the both of you with my life, of course I will," Harry said. He shook John's hand and John excused himself so he could get home and hug his daughter when midnight came.

Harry caught up with Hermione and cast the charm, which he received a steamy kiss for.

"Get a room you two!" Ron called from across the room, earning several chuckles from the crowd.

A few minutes later Tom announced that the countdown was going to start. Harry made sure that his and Hermione's glasses were full and they got ready for the countdown. Tom started off the count a few moments later. The crowd in the pub joined him in the countdown.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! Happy New Ye—"

The countdown erupted with a loud bang into a sea of pain, darkness, and debris.


	8. Ground Zero

Chapter Six

**A/N:** SORRY!! A six month delay should have not happened! I apologize for the stall in the story. But as I have a baby coming soon, I might not update for a few weeks, but I am still working on this story! IT IS NOT ABANDONED! Enjoy!

**Chapter Six**

**Ground Zero**

_January 1, 2008 12:05am_

John had just tucked his daughter back in bed when he heard what sounded like a firework that had fired wrong. He decided to turn back on his television and sat down to see what had happened. His jaw dropped as he listened.

"We interrupt your normal programming to bring you breaking news. It seems that a large explosion has been reported in central London a few minutes ago. Details are still coming in, but it appears that a large scale terrorist attack has just happened. We now go live to Christiane Amanpour. Christiane, what can you tell us so far?" The scene changed from the news room to a view of devastation as far as the camera could see.

"We are here on Charing Cross road and it seems that the worst of the damage is here. The buildings around here are either completely destroyed or heavily damaged. I don't know how many are dead or injured, but the casualty list will be extensive. The blast has been reported to be felt as far away as four miles in any direction.

"We have been trying to help out as much as we can, but it looks as though there are so many people trapped in damaged buildings and rubble, that many will not be found in time to save them.

"Hold on a second, it looks as though the rescue workers are confused about something. Constable, what can you tell us at this time?" She moved the microphone towards a battered and bloody policeman.

"We have no idea of how many are dead, but it looks like we have found an area that we have never seen before," he said.

"A new damage area sir?" she asked. The constable shook his head.

"No, I mean an area of London that we never knew existed. It seems as there is an entire city block that no one has seen before! If you look towards that direction you can see what I mean."

John's face drained of color as the camera swiveled around and pointed right into the Leaky Cauldron. He flipped off the television and ran into his daughter's room and found she was still barley awake.

"Crystal, you need to come with me now honey," he said gently. She mumbled into her pillow saying something about wanting to go back to sleep, but he shook her gently and pulled the covers off her.

"Come on kiddo, Uncle Harry could be hurt."

Crystal's eyes snapped open and she jumped out of bed and grabbed her wand. He gathered her in his arms and turned on the spot and apparated to Gringott's. He staggered when he saw the scene in front of him. Everywhere witches and wizards alike were injured and crying for help. A few others were trying to levitate rubble off of others and the healers from St. Mungo's were running from person to person to do what they could.

Crystal looked up at her father. He took her hand and they rushed towards the Leaky Cauldron. A few Aurors were standing in the alley and trying to keep people away from the pub. John tried to push his way past them, but they kept shouting that there was no one alive in the pub, and that the muggle news had full view of the alley from where they were, since the entire pub had been demolished.

"What's your name, son?" John asked the senior Auror. The Auror sighed and shook his head.

"My name is Mark Evans, sir. But I don't see how that will make a difference," the Auror said. John looked Mark straight in the eyes.

"Auror Evans, I hope you do realize that Harry Potter and his wife are in there," John said, knowing that would spark a reaction. Mark's eyes widened and he spun around looking at the debris.

"Men, we have to search the wreckage!" he shouted. Several of the Aurors yelled back that they would be seen. "Oh to hell with the muggle media! We might have survivors in there! Yes, I know I said that there would not be anyone alive in there, but now we have to try! Potter might still be alive in there!"

The gathering of Aurors stopped protesting at once and they turned and started running towards the rubble.

oOo

Christiane Amanpour saw that a gathering of strangely dressed men and women arguing and she managed to get closer to try and catch what they were saying. She motioned for the cameraman to start taping again and she pointed towards the men that she was observing. A few minutes ago they had been keeping everyone in the strange looking alley away from her field of view, but now they were arguing and she heard them leader mention the name Potter. When she heard that name, she saw every one of the men and women run towards the pile of debris.

To her astonishment, they all aimed small sticks at the pile of rubble and the pieces started lifting up by themselves.

"Tell me we are live right now!" she said to her cameraman. He shot her a thumbs up and kept his footage rolling.

Everyone who had access to CNN was watching the footage in disbelief. Who were these strange people and what in the world were they doing?

"This is Christiane Amanpour reporting live from the devastated section of London, following the terrorist attack. We are now seeing something we cannot explain. We had previously reported that the local constables had found a previously unknown area of London, right off of Charing Cross Road.

"We are seeing that several strangely dressed men and women are using some small sticks, and I know it sounds unbelieveable, but they look like magic wands you would see in a fantasy movie. They are moving large sections of stone and metal with these wands and they are searching for a person named Potter. They had previously been trying to keep people away from this area, but now it seems as they are trying to find this person named Potter at any cost. He must be a highly improtant person for them to change their positions that quickly.

"Wait, it looks like they have found a large group of survivors in the rubble. Some look injured and I think they are removing a body, but they are still moving rubble at such an astonishing rate."

She watched in wonder as the men and women furiously worked to find this Potter person. In all her years of covering news stories and international crises she had never seen anything like this.

oOo

Harry tried to take a deep breath, but found that his ribs must have been broken badly, as he coughed hard and he started to taste blood. His right arm and both of his legs were on fire, and he could tell he had a nasty cut on his head, as the blood had run down his face and obscured his vision. He struggled to hold onto consciousness, but he was failing fast. He squeezed his left hand again to make sure Hermione was still responding. He felt a faint squeeze back, and he thanked whoever was watching over him that she was still alive.

But suddenly, her hand was pulled from his, and he tried to scream her name, but all that came out was a strangled moan, and some more blood. He had lost her and he felt himself fading quickly. He tried to shift himself, but he was still pinned beneath so much debris, that he could only try to blink his eyes. As he faded away, he swore he heard Hermione calling out to him.

oOo

Mark started to get tired from all of the spell casting he had done in the last twenty minutes, but suddenly the large section of stone he was losing his hold on sprang back up and flew across the alley with a sudden force. He looked over and he saw a little eleven year old blond girl working with everything she had on the levitation spell. She quickly aimed again and pulled up a good sized chunk of rock and quickly sent it off to the side.

"Aunty Hermione!!" the girl screamed.

Mark turned back to the rubble and sure enough, Hermione Potter was sitting with one of her legs in a bit of an awkward position, and a nasty cut on her forehead, but aside from that, she was relatively unharmed. He saw she had her right hand buried in some rubble, but it was not that heavy looking. He raised his wand and gently levitated her out of the debris and he fought to keep her right hand on what she was holding onto, but he wiggled his wand a bit and he managed to get her hand freed.

Hermione fought against the spell as she screamed Harry's name, as it was taking her away from Harry. Mark called out to her and asked her to calm down, and that she was safe. Hermione turned her head and saw that Crystal was there, and John was quickly casting spells trying to help the Aurors rescue the survivors.

"Crystal! Uncle Harry is still in there! He needs help!" she called out. Crystal ran towards the rubble, only to be stopped by the Aurors.

Mark set Hermione gently down near some healers who started working on her right away. He turned back to where she had been found and raced over to see what he could find. He moved some of the small debris and found someone's hand. He called out to the person, but he got no response. He felt for a pulse and found a very weak one. He looked down at the hand and saw a wedding ring. He ran over to Hermione and lifted her left hand to look at her ring. He found the rings matched perfectly, and he looked into her eyes.

"Hold on, Mrs. Potter. I swear I will get him out!" he said with a strong but kind voice. She squeezed his hand and he got up and ran back to the rubble. "Potter's here! Get this rubble off!"

Several Aurors ran over and began levitating the debris away from where Mark had pointed to. They cleared the rubble as fast as they could. After several agonizing minutes, they finally had uncovered enough debris to get Harry's head uncovered. An Auror was about to move a large section off of Harry's chest when a healer suddenly smacked the wand aside.

"No! It looks like he is being somewhat held together by the stone. If we move it before we can get a healer here, he might bleed out too fast," the healer said. The healer cast a few spells to try and keep Harry alive.

Mark looked around at the scene and noticed the CNN crew. He clenched his hand tight around his wand, but he had to make sure the survivors were taken care of first, before he dealt with the muggles. Mark knew by looking at the news crew, that this was being recorded, or possibly even being broadcasted live. He cursed under his breath as he saw the reporter speaking to the camera and once in a while glancing over at him. His attention was diverted a moment later when the healer got his attention.

"I've got him stable with a few containment spells, but he need to be sent to St. Mungo's right away," the healer said. Mark nodded.

"The have your portkey ready and grab him as soon as we clear the rubble," Mark said. The healer nodded and pulled his portkey out of his robes as Mark turned to the Aurors. "Alright, everyone target a different piece of debris and we will all levitate at the same time. Potter will be portkeyed to St. Mungo's as soon as we lift the debris. Got it?"

Several shouts of agreement were heard and everyone readied themselves. Crystal aimed her wand at the largest piece of debris and waited for the signal. She listened as the countdown was started and slowly started to move her wand. When everyone heard the signal twenty pieces of the stone wall that used to be part of the Leaky Cauldron flew into the air. The healer grabbed Harry's hand and they vanished instantly, reappearing in the trauma ward of St. Mungo's hospital.

**oOo**

Around the world, people watching the news stared in shock at what seemed to be a very convincing movie. They had seen the center of London destroyed and the so-called magic being done. Some dismissed it as a clever hoax, and some were so enthralled by what they were seeing that they called relatives and friends to tell them to watch what they were seeing.

But one man in the United States, who knew the person the CNN reporter was talking about sat back and sighed. He poured a large portion of whiskey into a small glass and downed it in one swallow. He glanced at the TV again, and he scrubbed his eyes roughly with his hand.

He stood up and shut the TV off. He then went to his basement and entered his code into the security panel and pushed the door open. He moved across the room and opened a large container and started to pack his items he would need. He had been warned something like this was in the works, but when he tried to relay the information, he had been dismissed as paranoid and had been taken out of the loop. But that did not matter now. The war on terrorism had just exposed the wizarding world and his friend Harry was injured. Whether the wizards wanted it or not, they had just been dragged into the arena of international terrorism and they would need his help.

All he needed to do was get to Potter, and he could do what he could to help them prepare for a type of fighting they knew nothing about.

**oOo**

Healer Susan Bones had just finished helping with a serious injury from the explosion when she heard herself being paged to the trauma room. She ran through the hall shouting for everyone to clear a path and she sanitized her hands with a quick _scourgify_. She burst through the door and stopped dead in her tracks. There, lying on the table before her was Harry Potter. She quickly shook her head and began rattling off all of the diagnostic spells she could think of and they began to work.

Both of his legs and his right arm were pretty much crushed and over half of his ribs were shattered. His abdomen was pretty much ripped open by debris, but the field healer had been smart and put a strong containment spell on the wound to keep his blood from flowing out and killing him almost instantly. The team of healer quickly began closing up the wound and pouring blood replenishment potions down his throat as fast as they could.

Susan allowed herself a quick grin as she cast a few spells that removed the bones in his right arm and his legs, reminding her of what Lockhart did to Harry back in their second year. Quickly sobering, she focused back on the task of healing her friend of many years.

**oOo**

Auror Mark Evans approached the CNN News crew with trepidation. He made a quick twirl of his wand and the camera went dead. The reporter spun around and her eyes went wide seeing Mark approach her.

"Ma'am, I apologize for this, but I need the tape you have in that camera, now," Mark said in a stern tone. Christiane stared back at him and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have a tape in this camera," she said. She saw the man's eyes grow a bit bigger and he paled a bit. "This camera was transmitting live to our broadcasting hub."

Mark took a step back and shook his head. He turned around and flagged John Edwards down. John came running over and they spoke in quick and hushed tones. Christiane saw the other person cover his eyes with his hand and shake his head. He then turned and looked at Christiane and he approached her. She took a bit f a step back, but he continued towards her with his hands in a neutral position.

"Miss Amanpour, I am John Edwards," he said. She made a quick surprised noise and he chuckled. "No, I am not related to the American politician. But I am a member of our government. I understand you saw what we were doing over there and had been broadcasting it, correct?"

"Yes sir, we were," she said. He sighed, closed his eyes and sighed. "Mr. Edwards, what were you people doing?"

"I'm afraid we do not have the time to discuss this now, but if you give me a card or a number I can reach you at, we can discuss it further. Your unexpected transmission of our actions has exposed our world, and I doubt we could contain this since you were broadcasting worldwide. In the mean time, since we have been exposed and the world has seen what we did, could you direct me to the nearest law enforcement official?" John said. He heard someone behind him clearing his throat. He turned to see a constable behind him.

"I believe you were looking for me? What are on about?" the constable said.

"Constable. I do believe you were watching with Ms. Amanpour, were you not?" Upon seeing the constable nod his head, he continued. "Well then, in that case can our people be of some assistance? As you saw, we can clear debris away quite efficiently and also our healers can assist with some of the more critical injuries."

The constable gaped like a fish for a few moments. He had thought the man would be angry and try to keep away from them, but here he was offering to help find survivors with their abilities he had witnessed only a few minutes ago. He quickly shook his head and stared at John for a moment before he spoke up.

"Sir, we heard you people yelling about someone named Potter, and that was the only thing that got you all to move into our sight. Who is this person you were so desperate to rescue?" the constable asked.

"I will answer that question in a short time, but first our priority should be rescuing some of the injured first, am I correct?" John asked. The constable nodded, and Mark waved the Aurors over and he gave them some instructions, and they all tore off in different directions, trying to save all whom they could.

**oOo**

Susan Bones continued to work frantically to save her friend. Harry's heartbeat was a bit erratic due to how much blood he had lost from his injuries. What astounded her was that Hermione was standing outside of the trauma room, only suffering a bit of a sore leg because it had been broken and already healed by a field healer. They had been right next to each other from what Susan heard, and Hermione barley had any injuries.

When they reached a minute before they could do more for Harry, Susan quickly stepped outside of the room and went to talk to Hermione. Hermione was nervous of what Susan had to say.

"Susan? How is he?" Hermione asked as she wrung her hands. Susan sighed and shook her head.

"It's too soon to tell yet, Hermione. The injuries he has sustained would have killed a normal man, but he seems to be hanging on. But I don't know how long he can hold out. His heartbeat is erratic and his blood pressure is erratic as well," Susan explained. Hermione sat down in the chair and buried her face in her hands. Susan put a comforting hand on Hermione's back. "We are doing everything in our power to keep him alive. Hang in there, ok?"

Seeing Hermione's nod, Susan took a deep breath and continued.

"Hermione, I need to ask you, how did you escape the severity of injuries that Harry sustained? You two were right next to each other when the explosion happened. You should be in there with him," Susan said. Hermione shrugged.

"I'm not sure myself, Susan. All I know is that somehow I am relatively unharmed. I know he did not have enough time to cast a shield spell, and I know I didn't cast one. He had cast a charm on the babies just before midnight, however," Hermione explained. Susan raised an eyebrow and looked at Hermione intensely.

"What charm did he cast?" Susan asked.

"_Infans Contego_," Hermione answered. Susan looked at nothing in particular, and her eyes were darting back and forth, trying to think what could have happened. After a moment though, she snapped her fingers and looked at Hermione.

"That's interesting. _Infans Contego_ is a protection spell that sustains the fetus, as well as the Mother's health to keep the baby free from harm. It protects the vital system of the mother and the entire baby. That's why it saved you from the same injuries," Susan explained. She was about to open her mouth to say something else, when the door to the trauma room slammed open and she heard the other healers yelling for her. She bolted from her chair and rushed into the room.

Hermione started shaking as she heard the healers yelling out panicked yells and a lot of monitoring charm alarms going off. She buried her face in her hands again and her shoulders shook in rhythm with her sobs. She felt a hand grip her shoulder and she looked up into a set of blues eyes she knew like the back of her hand. Ron pulled her up into a three way hug with Sharon. The alarms suddenly cut off and a hushed whisper was heard. Hermione looked into the room and her heart lifted with hope as she heard a voice in her head.

'_Relax, dear one. He will be able to heal now. I cannot heal everything wrong with him, as I cannot even cry that many tears, but he will be able to heal the rest on his own now._'

Hermione walked into the room and looked around at the astonished expressions on the gathering of healers in the room. She grinned and shook her head.

"What? Have none of you ever seen a phoenix before?" she said. She looked over at Fawkes. "Thank you Fawkes. Thank you for coming to help him."

Fawkes trilled and everyone felt their worries lessen. Hermione walked up to Harry and took his left hand in hers. She smoothed his hair back from his forehead and she felt him relax under her touch.

"I'm here Harry. Everything is fine now, just rest and come back to me," she whispered to him. She sat down and started the wait for him to wake up.


	9. Fallout

**A/N:** Holy… My god almost two years. My friends, I am SOOOO sorry for the huge delay… Life has been way too crazy and I hit a long spell of writer's block. I know it's no excuse. This chapter just suddenly started flowing yesterday.

**Chapter Seven**

**Fallout**

_January 1, 2008, 4:03am_

After a few grueling hours, Mark Evans leaned back against a wall and slowly slid down it. So many witches and wizards had come to help the Aurors to assist in rescue efforts, and because of their assistance, so many more people had been saved and partially healed so that they could hang on until more medical personnel could arrive.

A volunteer saw Mark sit down heavily and walked over to him. The young woman held out a bottle of water for Mark. Seeing he was not reacting to her presence, she knelt down and looked at his face. She smiled softly when she saw he had fallen asleep almost instantly and she gently shook his shoulder. His eyes snapped open, and his wand was up in less than a second. His sudden movement had startled the poor woman and she fell back onto her bottom with a yelp. He looked over at her and he lowered his wand, blushing a bit.

"Sorry about that, ma'am. You startled me a bit," he said as he stood up and held out his hand to help her to her feet. She tentatively took his hand, and he smoothly pulled her to a standing position.

He smiled shyly at her, as she was very pretty and she looked to be about his age. She was dirty from the scene, but he could tell she was only a few inches shorter than his 6 foot two inch frame. She had bright green eyes and dark brown hair. He took the bottle of water from her and took a long drink. He gazed back at her and was quietly pleased to see her blush a bit. His smile faltered as he heard a noise above them and he quickly wrapped his arms around her as a chunk of an apartment building started to fall off the frame from the damage. He threw himself in to his left and took her with him as she screamed in surprise.

He released his grip of her in mid-roll and she continued the roll as the debris fell onto his legs. He yelled out in pain as he felt the bones snap from the impact. He dropped his head resting his forehead on the ground and he gritted his teeth in pain. He felt a shaking hand take his and he glanced up and saw the pretty young woman holding his hand as she used her other hand to whistle for help. She continued to hold his hand as the other volunteers rushed over and started lifting the rubble off of his legs.

"Sir, just hang in there," she whispered shakily. Mark squeezed her hand gently as a fresh wave of pain coursed through him as the pressure of the debris shifted. She squeezed his hand back, just letting him know she was there for him.

"What's your name?" she asked. He looked up and gazed into her eyes and gritted his teeth again.

"Mark Evans, ma'am," he whispered. He hissed in pain as the last of the debris was lifted off his legs. She smiled down at him.

"My name is Jenna," she said. He smiled and nodded. "Ok Mr. Evans, we have to roll you onto your back so we can splint your legs."

He nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as they started to roll him in unison to his back. Halfway through the roll, a backboard was placed against his back to make sure he was immobilized. After several agonizing moments, he was on his back and a healer ran over with a muggle EMT.

"Jackson," the healer started to say. The EMT looked up from looking at Mark's legs and focused on the healer. "If you set his bones, I can heal them fairly quickly so that we can move him. I have already done my scan and his back is alright."

The EMT nodded in wonder for the thousandth time at the skill of these wizards and the fast healing methods they used. He looked at Mark, who was still holding onto Jenna's hand and nodded. Mark nodded back and gritted his teeth together once again as the EMT swiftly set the broken bones and the healer quickly cast a numbing charm and healed the bones in a swift manner. She brought a vial of pain relieving potion to Mark's lips. He looked at the vial with distaste, but the look on the healer's face allowed for no arguments. He quickly downed the potion and stuck his tongue out.

"Bleh," he said as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. He heard a soft laugh off to his side. He looked over at Jenna and raised an eyebrow.

"At least there is that similarity between us," she said. He looked at her questioningly. "That medicine tastes just as bad in both of our cultures."

Mark snorted in amusement as the healer huffed and strode away with the EMT in tow, trying to fend off his questions. Mark started to let go of Jenna's hand, but her grip tightened. She stayed with him and stared at the man who had just saved her life after he had saved countless others, with no regard for his safety. After about twenty minutes, the healer strode through and ran a scan with her wand and pronounced that Mark could be released on the condition that he needed to take it easy for a few days. Mark sighed and nodded.

The restraints were released and Mark gingerly sat up. Jenna released his hand so he could work himself up to standing. He shakily stood up and winced as his legs protested a bit, but he was able to walk slowly and get to his house. Jenna put his arm over her shoulders and helped him along until he stopped in front of what was left of the Leaky Cauldron. He slowly leaned down and picked up a license plate from the debris. It read: POTTER1.

"Oh, crap. Harry's gonna be pissed," Mark said as he shook his head. Jenna looked over at him and asked why. He held up the license plate and grinned. "He's going to be angry because this came off of his brand new Audi SUV."

Jenna snorted in amusement and shook her head. She started to move but Mark stayed where he was standing, looking at the license plate with sad eyes. She moved back a step and looked at Mark.

"You know, Harry is the reason I'm still here today. Hell, he's the reason we're all still here. He's the reason I became an Auror. If he doesn't survive this, our world will be devastated," Mark said.

"Is he that important to your people?" Jenna asked. Mark nodded.

"He saved us all from a really evil man a few years ago. He's treated like royalty by my world, and yet, he wants all the fame to go away. He would rather everyone said thanks and left him alone, but yet he still gets put into the news like a celebrity. After all of the sacrifices he has made, his parents, his first love, his mentor, God, the list goes on and on. He still is just a normal guy trying to do some good in this world," Mark said.

Jenna smiled and nodded. She gently pulled Mark forward and led him towards his home. Then she realized that she did not know where to go.

"Um, Mark? I just realized that I don't know where to lead you to," she said with a slight blush. He smiled and pointed out the direction. They continued walking towards his house in a comfortable silence, and Mark wondered if this is what Harry felt like when he walked with Hermione.

oOo

Hermione was asleep when Harry stirred a bit. Her head shot up and looked at him. He looked like he was in pain, and she quickly stood up to get a nurse so he could get something for the pain. She started to let go of his hand, but his tightened around hers.

"Don't leave me," Harry whispered. Hermione quickly turned back to him and sat back down. "Please don't leave."

"I'm here Harry. Thank Merlin you are awake," she said as she leaned over and gently kissed his hand. She breathed a sigh of relief that he had woken up. His injuries had been bad, and the healers had said if he woke up, he would stand a better chance at recovery.

"What happened?" Harry asked in a raspy voice. Hermione's eyes welled up with tear as she started to tell him what happened.

"As far as anyone can tell, it was a large bomb that went off. It was muggle in origin that much the Aurors have found out. They think it originated from across the street from the Leaky Cauldron," Hermione explained. Her eyes widened a bit. "The bus Harry! That was parked across the street and we noticed it before we went into the party!"

Harry just nodded and closed his eyes, knowing that Hermione was alright. His eyes snapped back open as a disturbing thought entered his mind. He opened his mouth, but Hermione raised a hand to stop him.

"I'm just fine. They babies had nothing wrong with them. All I had was a broken leg," she explained. She smiled softly and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "Thank Merlin that you cast that charm on me and the kids." He smiled and relaxed and felt himself drift off to sleep again.

"Love you," he whispered. Hermione smiled and settled back down next to him and felt herself drift off as well.

"Love you too, Harry," she mumbled before falling asleep.

oOo

_January 1, 2008, 1pm._

"What in the name of Merlin were you thinking?"

John winced and looked up at his boss. His eyes quickly traveled around the room, and saw that everyone was either nervous or downright hostile towards him.

"Not only did we get broadcast all over the world, but you go and _talk_ to their news reporter, promising to talk to her later? Why didn't you just obliviate her straight away? And then! You have the Aurors start helping and casting spells IN THE MIDDLE OF MUGGLE LONDON?" his boss yelled. John sighed and looked at his boss.

"Look, what else were we going to do?" John said. "Just let all those people die?"

"If it kept our world secret, yes!" his boss yelled. John stood up and started at his boss, not two inches from his nose.

"THEY ARE ALSO HUMAN BEINGS!" John yelled. "I imagine if you were on their side of the fence, you would expect them to care for you if you were seriously injured, right?" His boss just huffed and sat down.

"The fact of the matter is," John continued. "Is that there were people already injured and trapped by rubble. The muggle news had already seen us, and they were sending the image around the world." He looked at his boss. "Do you really want to be responsible for working on the project for obliviating everyone who saw that broadcast around the world?"

"That should not be that many people should it?" one of the people in the conference room said. John just threw his head back and laughed. The advisor looked highly affronted. "I hardly think that reaction is warranted, Mr. Edwards." John looked over and shook his head.

"I gather, sir, that you are a pureblood," John said. The older man nodded and puffed his chest out. "Well that figures." The man growled at John. John held up his hand and continued. "How many in here know what a television is?"

He looked around the room and saw that only four people of the thirty or so raised their hands. He covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head. Someone cleared their throat and spoke up.

"Please, do enlighten us," the older man said, with a superior grin on his face. His grin did not last long as John explained.

"A television is a device that receives broadcast signals and shows a moving picture on the surface," he explained. "Before I go any further, I should ask. How many of you heard of the World Cup a couple of years ago?" He saw several more hands go up. He grinned and got ready for the big shocker.

"Well, I looked it up on the internet," he saw a few sets of eyes go blank. '_That's another story, for another meeting_' he thought to himself. "I was raised to keep up to date on muggle technology, as my mother was a muggle. But back to the point. I wanted to be prepared for this argument. The World Cup was broadcast over the televisions. Approximately 5.9 _billion_ people watched it around the world. That's right, almost 6 billion human beings watched it over the entire tournament. And just the last game between Italy and France, 600 million people watched that game alone and that was just a sporting event. Quite frankly, I don't think we could even put a dent in that even with a month to work with, and that includes working with every ministry around the world. Our goose is cooked."

After waiting for a lull in the hushed conversations taking place around him, John spoke up again.

"The way I figured it earlier this morning, is that if they had already broadcast us around the world, sitting down and explaining everything is better than having every witch and wizard around learn the obliviate spell and embarking on a foolish and futile effort. It makes better sense to try and patch up their missing information and spin what we want, instead of having the muggles overrun us and forcibly expose everything. Let's take the veil away and show them the truth."

Just then a junior aide burst into the room.

"Sirs, I just got word. The Minister of Magic has died from his injuries," the young man said. Silence fell as the news sunk in.

"Thank you for informing us," John's boss said quietly. The aide nodded and quickly exited the room. Everyone sat down and quietly mulled the implications of what was happening. "First thing we need to do is to appoint an interim Minister for the time being, until formal elections can be organized. Let's set this issue aside and focus on getting our government back into place."

Murmurs of agreement were heard as everyone quietly got up and rushed off to their offices. John sat there and shook his head and wondered what was going to happen next. He stood up and walked to his office. He sat down and tried to get the images of the destruction out of his head. With a sigh, he picked up the card from the reporter he spoke to and wondered if he had done the right thing.

He sighed as his notification charm went off, knowing that the Prime Minister wanted to confer with him after the events of the early morning hours. He gathered all that he had so far and made his way to the floo system to meet with the prime minister, as well as some of the highest ranking members of intelligence agencies from Britain and the United States.

oOo

The man was stopped by airport security, only to have the security waved off by the Air Marshal who was on the same flight. The man was one of the few who were allowed to carry a weapon on an airplane, but then anyone who had his security clearance would be allowed to. The man walked up to the baggage claim and flashed his wallet, and the airport security handed over the rolling trunk and allowed the man on his way. The man stopped on the curb outside and was picked up by a personal driver. Inside the limousine, he came face to face with his counterpart's aide there in Great Britain. 

"Deputy Director Johnson, welcome to Great Britain," the MI-6 officer said. "Station Chief Hammond would be here, but he is currently briefing the Prime Minister right now."

Deputy Director Johnson nodded that he understood.

"What do we have for possible suspects at this time?" Johnson asked.

"We are still trying to figure out what group it was, but we do know it was definitely a terrorist group. No one has come forward claiming responsibility yet, but we have a few good ideas," the aide said. He handed over a folder. He continued as Deputy Director Johnson open the folder and skimmed the file.

"We know that the tour bus that was on Charing Cross Road was the device used, as we saw it detonate in traffic cameras from that street. We are still going over recordings to find out if we can spot and possibly identify the driver." Johnson nodded. "Anything further than that will need to be addressed by Station Chief Hammond, as he has classified it as top secret."

Deputy Director Johnson nodded and read over the preliminary findings while he was transported to the office he would be staying in. While he was finishing the last page, the aide's mobile phone rang.

"Yes sir," the aide said into his phone. He listened for a few moments and then nodded. "Understood, sir." He disconnected the call and lowered the partition between them and the driver.

"Driver. Change of plans, 10 Downing Street, as soon as possible. Local police will escort us with all due haste," the aide said.

"Yes sir!" the driver said, just as a police car joined them and took the lead. As the partition went up, the aide looked at Director Johnson.

"Sir, you might want to -," the aide said, but noticed that the Director had already fastened his seat belt. The aide grinned. "Never mind sir, it looks like you already took care of that."

Deputy Director Johnson grinned and nodded at the aide. The truth was he was anxious to get done with this meeting so he could check up on his friend. He had heard that he was still in the hospital. His friend was lucky to survive, but all the same, he owed it to Harry.

They arrived at the Prime Minister's office and the aide escorted the Director in. He handed his weapon over, knowing that the British Army has guards at every possible entry point and they seemed to be very efficient and highly trained. He flashed his ID and badge to the security desk and was quickly escorted to the Prime Minister's office.

He was waved in, and the aide stopped and made a gesture to go in. When the door closed he heard the sound of the fireplace whooshing and a distinguished man gracefully stepped out. Station Chief Hammond from MI-6 was there, and the Prime Minister was standing, welcoming the guests to the meeting. After Director Johnson shook the Prime Minister's and Station Chief Hammond's hand, he turned to the wizard who had just arrived.

"Good afternoon Prime Minister," John said as he shook the Prime Minister's hand. He looked at the other two men and reached out his hand. "Good day, gentlemen. John Edwards, Senior Undersecretary of Defense of the Ministry of Magic."

"Station Chief Hammond, MI-6," as he shook John's hand. John then turned to Director Johnson.

"Deputy Director Ben Johnson, CIA," he said with a grin. John's eyes lit up a bit.

"Finally we get to meet Deputy Director," John said. Ben nodded. His smile fell.

"Any news on our man?" Ben asked. John nodded.

"He was in one of the buildings that took the brunt of the explosion. He was severely injured, but he is out of the woods and recovering," John said. Ben let out a sigh. "It was really close a couple of times, but Harry is not giving up now. He's got too much to live for now." Ben raised an eyebrow. "That's right! He just announced it last night. He and his wife are having twins!"

Ben smiled and nodded.

"That is good news," Ben said. "Well, shall we get down to it?" Everyone nodded and sat down. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, started the discussion.

"Alright, gentleman. I would like to know what happened and who did it. Also, do we have any ideas on the casualties so far?" Prime Minister Brown asked. Director Hammond spoke up right away.

"Preliminary casualty numbers are between three hundred and five hundred dead, and around nine hundred injured," Director Hammond said after consulting his report in front of him. He then looked at John. "A lot more would have died from injuries or being trapped in debris for too long if it had not been for your people." John nodded and smiled.

"It's the least we could do," John said.

"But I thought you people guarded your secrecy intensely," Prime Minister Brown said. John smiled and answered.

"Well, we had already been exposed, and since I do have a working knowledge of technology, I knew the video had been broadcasted all over the world, and we had little to no chance of a cover up," John explained. "I explained in rough terms to my government what that meant. I think I got it through to them that it would take years to try and hide again, and that it would be a futile effort, especially with the speed of technology these days."

Both of the directors nodded and made a few notes. Director Johnson leaned back in his chair and discreetly observed John Edwards. Harry had told him that John was a person they could trust, and that he would be easy to work with if the need ever arose. Director Johnson and Harry had met shortly after 9-11. He had been part of the top secret debriefing team that sat in on Harry's session. They had brought Ben in when he had been marked down as a muggle who had already known of the magical world from his sister. Director Johnson's sister had been the first witch born to his family, and she was already a member of the American Ministry.

Harry's selflessness and courage impressed the usually stern Deputy Director Johnson. He made it a point to try and get to know Harry after the debriefing, and was astounded at the experiences that Harry had gone through. After several stories, he had asked his sister if she had ever heard of one Harry Potter. She had and was able to verify everything Harry had told Ben, but with more details. It seemed that Harry had downplayed his role in things from the official records.

Ben confronted Harry on that and had asked if Harry was interested in working with them as a liaison, and possibly a field agent with a new task force they were setting up to have magical solutions for situations like 9-11. Harry had politely declined, saying he was trying to live a quiet life and maybe start a family. Harry had given Ben a few names he could look up in case others could take his spot.

"I agree," Ben said. "My sister is a witch who works with the American Ministry of Magic, and she has reached the same conclusion. To attempt a mass cover up at this point would be a waste of time."

Station Chief Hammond spoke up next, as he turned a page in his report.

"After viewing the traffic cameras in the area, we found the source of the explosion," he said and turned the folder so the others could see. "We saw the explosion originate from the 'tour bus' that was parked on Charing Cross Road. What we have gentleman, is a deliberate and well planned terrorist attack."

"Do you think it was planned to expose your world?" Prime Minister Brown asked. John shook his head in the negative.

"No sir, Prime Minister. It looks to be they just chose an area that looked like it was well travelled, but away from areas like Trafalgar Square and Waterloo Station, where the security was much tighter," John said. "Unless the driver was a wizard, you would not be able to see the entrance to our section of London. It was hidden. The reason why Diagon Alley could be seen after the explosion is that the main ward anchor stone was destroyed in the blast, and all of our protections and shields fell when the stone was destroyed."

All of the men processed the information and the meeting continued with a few more statistics of the attack. After another hour or so, they had finished the meeting and they scheduled another meeting for the following morning to see if more information was available.

John took the floo connection back to the ministry where he found his assistant bouncing in her seat, looking anxious to talk to him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, asking her what was the matter.

"Sir, they just finished an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot," his assistant named Becky said.

"Oh? And what was decided?" John asked. She grinned ruefully and answered him.

"They just confirmed you as the interim Minister of Magic!" she said. "I don't envy you sir."

John just chuckled at her comment. It was obvious that his muggle upbringing and his knowledge of that world helped grease the wheels. That and they wanted a fall guy for anything that could go wrong.

"Well, I guess it's time to move upstairs, then, hm?" he said with a wink.


End file.
